Megan Ford: Feminasty

It’s ironic—if telling—that when you first start typing ‘Megan Ford’ into Google you’re instantly hit with an influx of stuff about Megan Fox, an actress who clearly gets googled rather a lot (most of it searches for saucy images, presumably).

This is Ford’s focus, the treatment of women in modern media, particularly here and in the States. The now London-based American comic sports a sleeveless shirt (not a ‘wife-beater’, no) that sums up this show’s aims pretty succinctly: “Well, the patriarchy isn’t going to fuck itself.” Indeed, and this is a surprisingly accessible way to start fucking it, although the stupendous Ford isn’t afraid to abruptly cut the laughs mid-routine by wielding the mighty hammer of unpleasant truth.

A bewilderingly confident comic, singer, writer, actress, rapper – you name it – Ford gives a masterclass in how to run a character show here: she marches on like a regular standup, uses sketches to illustrate the overall theme, and some excellent piped-in audio skits for the tricky changing-backstage moments. Those characters veer from a right-wing potential congresswoman to a teen vlogger, all surfing different aspects of sexist awfulness: internet trolls, patronising interviewers, stay-home-to-stay-safe advice.

Ford is brash and frenetic but there are depths to her seemingly daft personas, well-observed behavioural quirks and linguistic tics that, admittedly, won’t be picked up by everyone, what with sections of the audience looking slightly shell-shocked. Everyone should pick up the excellent fanzine she gives away at the end though, a lovingly crafted bit of homework, because an hour just isn’t enough to change the world.