ED2015 2/5 Reviews ED2015 Theatre Reviews

Hair Peace (Victoria Melody)

By Rebecca Jacobson | Published on Wednesday 26 August 2015

Victoria Melody is blunt: wearing a wig made of real hair is like wearing someone’s old fingernails. After competing in a beauty pageant for a previous show – and learning that the UK is the world’s third biggest importer of human hair – Melody set off on a wigspedition. In Russia, she meets a man who buys hair at a mall kiosk. In India, she witnesses tonsuring rituals. Video footage punctuates Melody’s slow, deliberate monologuing, which can make her sound like a primary school teacher. There’s a kernel of greatness here – it’d make a brilliant ‘Planet Money’ episode. But in trying to juggle investigation alongside armchair sociology about female beauty, ‘Hair Peace’ doesn’t quite get to the root (heh) of either.

Pleasance Courtyard, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 2/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]