It’s well known that nowadays quite a lot of women enjoy playing video games. But I have not heard much about how they fit into the gaming community. In Sluts with Consoles, Alice Robb and Alice Flynn put on a show that explores exactly that. In a meta video game-like setting, we are introduced to Player 1 and Player 2. Player 1 played by Robb, and Player 2 played by Flynn. It is made clear that Player 1 is newer to the gaming scene and thus more innocent and agreeable. While Player 2 has been around for longer and is quite jaded.
Through different ‘levels’ Robb and Flynn display how girls’/women’s relationship with gaming changes as they grow up. Throughout the show, the audience can interact. I thought it was quite clever that when I retrieved my ticket, I was asked to pick a colored sticker that would symbolize to Robb and Flynn if I wished to participate. This is a good idea to make interactive shows inclusive to those who may experience some level of social anxiety. The interactive element does add much-needed laughs, which balances out the darker material. I didn’t leave feeling sad and depressed about women’s place in the gaming industry. Yes, there was some reporting of terrible real-life events. But how Robb and Flynn display this left me more intrigued about the women’s stories and who the women are instead of just saddened.
I wouldn’t consider myself a gamer, and even though I wish some of my friends who are women and gamers could’ve come with me, I was still able to enjoy it. The themes that are present within the show are easy to spot on social media and in real life, they aren’t exclusive to a niche community. This is a show highlighting women in the gaming community, but also, it’s a show about a different, yet still horrible, form of misogyny the internet has allowed, and its relationship with fourth-wave feminism. I think Robb and Flynn did a great job creating a fun and intriguing experience. I feel like I really learned something, and it was a great time.
Review by Elisabeth Beer
Gamer girls: do they really exist? why do they want attention so badly? do you want to drink our bath water? no, really, that’s a serious question.
Is that a joy-con in your pocket, or are you pleased to see us? Armed with plasmids, meelee weapons, and enough energy drinks to kill a small dog, Player One and Player Two are on a mission to uncover the truth about women in the gaming industry.
Inspired by real testimonies from women working within the gaming industry, Sluts With Consoles is an anarchic, high-energy, dark comedy created to heal the edgy teenage ‘not-like-other-girls’ girl inside us all.
Saturday 3rd June 2023
https://cptheatre.co.uk/