Review: Chameleon

Trigger warning for sexual assault survivors

Britt Plummer sparks hope in the face of our monstrous society. Her one-woman show, Chameleon, tackles the ever-relevant issue of sexual assault with both sincerity and humour.

Plummer details personal accounts of sexual assault and critiques generalised ideations of femininity in a captivating sequence of vignettes. A staged caricature of femininity with deliberately overdrawn eyebrows and lips, Plummer is a serious purveyor of social change intent on achieving her goal with perfected physical comedy. There’s an outrageous personification of ‘female hysteria’ and an improvisational band practice with fun audience participation.

While her personal accounts of assault are confronting to hear, she has created a safe space by prefacing that anyone can leave anytime during the performance. 

Plummer delivers a forthright monologue that neatly packages feminist history and gender inequality 101 making her show wonderfully accessible. She doesn’t seek to hold intellectual superiority over her audience, so no matter what stage of their feminist journey someone is on, they feel included in the conversation. 

Chameleon is imbued with silliness and play that never detracts from the gravity of her topic. Instead Plummer promotes an important reminder that women like her are surviving – and so can you.