Show fearlessly tackles a taboo subject

Marisa Carnesky said the aim for her show, Dr Carnesky's Incredible Bleeding Woman, is to put the magic back into menstruation. 

Marisa said: 'I went on a PhD programme and decided to explore the lost rituals of menstruation.

'Obviously, it's something that happens to half the population but something so taboo we never speak about it. It's really twisted that we treat it as a hygiene issue in the West. In cultures all over the world there's quite different stories.'

Marisa looked at menstr-uation rituals in indigenous cultures and brought together performers to create some of their own. 

They include burlesque perfor-mer Fancy Chance, who does a routine hanging by her hair, and sword swallower Missa Blue. 

The reduced version of the show at the University Drama Studio tomorrow, Friday, is like 'a feminist Ted Talk on acid', joked Marisa, with performers seen on film. 'We're playing with taboos and turning them on their heads,' she added.

The show is part of the EnableUS drama festival. Tickets: www.enableus.group.shef.ac.uk