Words by Jodie Nunn.
An algorithmic takedown of trite trends and beauty BS! A satirical social commentary contoured by a pertinent poignancy, She’s F***ing Tired pokes an angled brush at the relentless rigmarole of prevailing societal expectations thrust upon women in the online proscenium – the most pigmented culprit? TikTok – the colour pay-off? Immense.
Director and producer, Emily Y Adams flat lays a choreographic ensemble any beauty influencer would be proud of; a multi-disciplinary palette, She’s F***ing Tired triumphs amidst a saturated sea of social media dogma. Social commentary of this kind is nothing new, yet Adams dons a fresh filter, one of honesty, integrity and relinquish.
Impressively, the piece feels as brash and abashing as a brief scroll through a For You Page; bombarded by recommendations, GRWMs, do’s and don’ts, dancers and co-choreographers Annelise Bucher and Melissa Suan ritualistically relent the tidal pull of expectation, each donning a new trend with every upward swipe. Beginning with firm roots in physical theatre, music and movement ebb and flow with societal swell. The accompaniment laminates, a cosmetic collection of trend-cycle tunes, from boiler room babe Charli XCX to our lord and saviour Chappell Roan, bringing a lightness to the darkened corset beneath.
Bucher and Suan brandish a youthful, impressionable naivety, bounding across the space, capitulating to an onslaught of cursory cringe. Interspersed with 20-second TikTok dances, eerily uncomfortable when staged in-person and out of context, audience interaction brings a welcomed ease to proceedings, a collective exhale and scoff resounding through The Courtyard Theatre. Both dancers elicit a palpable confidence, resonating through the space, able to radiate through the suffocating quickening of social media white noise.
As the doom-scrolling overbears, the absurdity of trends and beauty standards intensifies; Bucher and Suan tear through wardrobes and vanity’s, a desperate attempt to stay afloat, straddling a raft of relevancy. Accelerating in tandem with the cacophony of chatter and unsolicited opinions that constitute the accompaniment – the noise finally ceases; Bucher and Suan collapse, heaps of fast-fashion and toxic, performative femininity. Relinquish ensues as the pair scream, cutting through the space, clearing the floor of all that lay before, a blank canvas to start anew.
Moving now into what feels like a soliloquy, the dancers model their training with a luxuriating and comfortable sweep. Bucher wearsvaporous acrobatics and fluid floorwork, blending with a noteworthy ease, whilst Suan’s impulsive thump and liquifying angst undulates with growing intensity. Dancing together, the pair unite, pulsating with one breath, together in mind, body, and algorithm.
Kneeling before one another in the flickers of amber candlelight, the pair bathe in the meditative lull of a quieting hum. Speaking with breathless poise, Bucher and Suan recount The Body Prayer, a gift to audience members upon the piece’s closing:
The Body Prayer
Our body who art on earth
Cherish thy form
Thy judgement come
But thy love be done
In thy heart and thy mind
Give us this day our self-love
And forgive us our self-shame
As we forgive those who shame against us
And lead us not into societal pressures
But deliver us from social media
For thy body is a kingdom
Sacred and divine
Holding beauty and love that will last
Forever and ever
To find out more and keep up-to-date with upcoming performance projects by Emily Y Adams, head to her Instagram.