The very ‘passionate’ Esther Manito performed her new show Hell Hath No Fury at Birmingham’s centre of comedy, the Glee Comedy Club, on the 14^th of September. The title comes from the idiom ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,’ adapted from the play The Mourning Bride by William Congreve. Manito has chosen the perfect title for her show, in which she deals with gender struggles and her own self-deprecating turmoil, all with a lovely side of feminine rage. When I interviewed her, she stated this show is all about the little things that ‘niggle until you finally explode.’ She did not disappoint.

Opening the show was Andy Gleeks, a Northern Irish comedian who tries to convince his audience that he has the rugged good looks of Ryan Reynolds, hence his struggle with dating apps, and explores the issues of being an Irishman now living in a posh English town. Whilst his material felt unnatural at times, the punchlines certainly made up for it. His anger surrounding national pride and identity prepares us for the ‘fury’ that is to follow – on comes Esther Manito.

Society’s flaws and ingrained patriarchy is brought up by Manito with such ease and humour that the audience constantly travels between musing on the pains of womanhood and cackling at Manito’s unfortunate experiences

Hell Hath No Fury begins with Manito inviting us to laugh at her own misfortunate life, and by the end of the show, we (especially women) are laughing at our own. Manito’s observational material incorporates the struggles of being a woman, ranging from the usage of Tena Ladies and their worryingly good absorbance to the high expectations and pressure that society has placed on women. She ‘swoons’ over drunk men on the Tube and their poor attempts at flirtation and cries at the dismissal of medical professionals, who sign women’s problems off as due to menstruation or the menopause, when it may be a domino effect of men. Society’s flaws and ingrained patriarchy is brought up by Manito with such ease and humour that the audience constantly travels between musing on the pains of womanhood and cackling at Manito’s unfortunate experiences. A spectrum of womanhood is presented, and this is what makes this show truly incredible and hilarious. Manito does not limit herself to one aspect of life as a woman and finds humour within it all – or perhaps she finds rage, which for the audience is very comedic. Manito embraces the misogynistic title she is given as an ‘angry woman’ (and how if she were a man, she would be classed ‘passionate’) rather than dismissing it. Her material and performance stems from a burning pit of feminine rage, the embers of which spur cackles amongst the audience. I feel seen.

She puts on a performance: her material is paralinguistic

Manito’s comedy is not limited to her words alone – she puts on a performance: her material is paralinguistic. Manito transforms before our eyes, her body convulsing beneath the weight of her joke. It is hard not to laugh. Whether her impressions are of her father (with his idioms such as ‘bugger your beliefs’) or of her husband (whose inability to tidy a coat rack unravels a stream of inner turmoil and anger towards ingrained misogyny), they are delivered so well. I am no longer sat in the Glee Comedy Club, with half a coke in my hand, but I am a child, eavesdropping on my mother in the kitchen.

A joy of the night was seeing the audience around me laugh at Manito’s every word – hearty belly laughs at the front of the crowd, the type that moves your entire body, launching you forward. Even Manito’s dramatic pauses were interrupted by pre-emptive laughs; the crowd was tipsy, encouraging, and elated – a reflection of Manito’s impact. Her strong stage presence and perfect comedic timing meant that we hung on her every word.

Her strong stage presence and perfect comedic timing meant that we hung on her every word

Whilst the audience was mostly middle aged, with a lot of Manito’s material focused on issues within marriage and motherhood, the show still stands strong for a younger audience. Although I cannot relate to some of her struggles, it is a hilarious peephole into what the future has in store. Manito leaves me musing on gender politics and my own feminine rage, but perhaps the main takeaway from this show is for women to embrace their identity as an ‘attention seeking sl*ag.’ I know I am.

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Interview: Esther Manito