Where have all our women gone? By Elizabeth Huskisson

“I’m trying to tell you a true story.”

Multiple stories are shown in the span of an hour; from a woman trying to remember what has happened to her friend, a mother grieving for her murdered daughter to comments made on different cases and the police’s actions. All played by Elizabeth standing in scattered newspapers, representing the endless stories of violence against women.

A simple box is on the set. More newspapers sit on top. More cases are heard when the character picks a newspaper from the box and the cycle repeats: another newspaper is taken, another case where there was violence and a woman was the victim is heard. The newspapers on the floor are torn with Elizabeth tearing more and more as the show goes on.

She is the show, weaving stories together without dramatising them. Pain is excluded with poetry while a grim reality is set over and over again for countless women. Fear of going out at night to holding keys in her hands, there are repeated references, cameos and glances at what the reality is for women in the world. 

Her energy is vivid, moving from character to character. One moment she's a grieving mother to the police making inappropriate comments about a murdered victim. It’s unpredictable when she switches and yet nothing too chaotic. The story is woven together. Everything fits together with the structure of the show, even when things collapse at the end and multiple voices are heard- a sign that the character can’t carry on. Elizabeth’s writing is genius and incredible to watch. 

“I’m just one woman.”

This is a one-woman show and the switch from mourning to satire is mesmerising to watch: A salesman is trying to sell rape alarms to the police’s guide on how to go missing is a frightening truth of the world to a grieving mother. And Elizbaeth’s acting shines all throughout each of her characters. Her performance is emotionally unsettling and distressing. She goes into detail about the victims and their assailants, naming them in rapid succession to emphasise how many cases there have been. 

It leaves audiences with reminders of what is happening today. It’s bleak, heartbreaking and real. 

The show is ongoing till the 27th of May 2023 at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre.