Review: 'Philosophy of the World' by In Bed with My Brother

Philosophy of the World, performed at Stanley Arts in Norwood by theatre group In Bed With My Brother, is a show based on the real-life story of The Shaggs, a 60s American band made up of three sisters who are forced by their father to perform, despite having no talent. We are encouraged to participate by booing The Shaggs (played by Nora Alexander, Dora Lynn and Kat Cory) when they sing, and throwing Coke cans at them. The sisters follow their father's script, which changes randomly on a screen, and we watch as they repeat a physically gruelling sequence to represent the repressive cycle of having to train intensively in isolation in their basement, and then performing every night at the town hall to boos and jeers.

The show pivots in the second act when their father, Austin Wiggin (played by Nigel Barrett) dies, so the script that he has written for them no longer applies. This is where the work diverts from true life, as Austin comes back as a ghost. There are some violent scenes where the sisters try to kill him but he keeps returning, perhaps representing a patriarchy that refuses to die. This feeling of injustice against male oppression intensifies in Act 3, which has a punk feel to it, and features a powerful monologue, delivered to clashing drumbeats, in which parallels are drawn between The Shaggs' situation of having to follow their father's script, and Valerie Solanas, who had tried to assassinate Andy Warhol for stealing a script she had written.

Overall, we get the sense that the performers used The Shaggs as a way to present their own philosophy of the world, and by the end we are encouraged to see the world through this feminist lens, learning to view what was dubbed “the worst band in the world” in a more complex light, and within a wider context.