Theatre: Sex Idiot and Fake it ’til you Make it

Life is art for Bryony Kimmings, warts and all.
Whether it’s the search for the source of her STD in Sex Idiot, or her relationship with her clinically depressed fiancée in Fake it ’til you Make it, the art she makes from her life is courageous, outrageous, dangerous and, above all, free.
That freedom is the core quality of her art.






Sex Idiot (★★★★½)
Written and performed by Bryony Kimmings
Circus Theatre
Friday 6 Feb
 In Sex Idiot, Bryony discovers she has contracted an STD and resolves to find its source, starting, logically enough, at the beginning.
It's a dazzling cabaret of songs, dance, stunts and gags, one act for each of her lovers. Kimmings excoriates and self-excoriates, weeps and laughs – at us, herself, and the whole damn thing.
Kimmings is utterly fearless and completely herself. I can’t recall when I’ve seen an artist so comfortable in her own skin. 

Fake it ’til you Make it (★★★½)
Written and performed by Bryony Kimmings and Tim Grayburn
PICA
Until 7 Feb 
The same courage makes Fake it ’til you Make it tenderly affecting. Kimmings’ fiancée Tim Grayburn is on stage with her; his illness can cripple and endanger him, and it’s clear that Kimmings uses her creative skills to support and protect him. 
The love between the two of them is palpable, but so is Kimmings’ terror when Grayburn doesn’t reply to her texts, or she sees an open window and suddenly thinks the unthinkable but entirely possible. 
It’s been a revelation to see this remarkable artist at work in both her Fringe shows.