Pamela likes to sell herself as the thinking woman’s E.L James with titles like ‘Panties Inferno’ and one for the GDPR age: ‘S.T.D. Sexually Transmitted Data’

She’s been pumping them out at a rate of one every three days, cutting and pasting Wikipedia pages between the sex scenes. Yet after a few personal issues – which she candidly explains – Pamela has hit the metaphorical wall of ‘Writer’s Block’.

Undeterred, she pushes ahead and publishes her new novel anyway – the novelty being you make the ending up yourself. And here we are at the launch of her new idea of the book without an ending, ‘eVULVAlution’ – a time-travelling, prehistoric erotic fiction romp…set in Hull.

But what starts of as quite an ordinary book launch, with a read passage from the author, turns into a hilarious adventure, in which Pamela not only acts out scenes from her book, but gets the audience to join in too.

Ok, you might be thinking at this point, surely joining an on-stage Neanderthal orgy is a step too far? But what Pamela lacks in literary skills, her creator, Jenny May Morgan makes up for in her brilliantly crafted and intelligent comedy.

It is the little details Jenny includes that make this parody stand-out. She takes prehistoric hand paintings and imagines them being formed by some lustful dance. Soon the audience is pushing their hands forward, stamping their feet, and chanting the oohh–aahhhs she cajoled them into reading along with at the start of the story.

The wannabee paleontologist then gets down and dirty to ascertain the brown matter she finds on the ground is actual Neanderthal excrement.

It’s all about authenticity for the character and for Jenny, whose expertly maneuvered mobility scooter goes into a time-travelling mode if it breaks the 8mph speed limit. Like the best character comedy, DeMenthe is well-observed and then exaggerated for surreal comic effect.

And like the best popular novelists, DeMenthe has us hooked and waiting for her next installment.  

eVULVAlution is at The Lowry on 4-5 April 2019 and returns to Waterside, Sale in July.

Read our interview with Jenny May Morgan aka Pamela DeMenthe.

The post eVULVAlution Review at The Lowry appeared first on Quays Life.

Who is Pamela DeMenthe and how did you create her?

Pamela is a self-published erotic fiction author with delusions of grandeur, very little literary ability and a lot of pent up sexual frustration. I created her four years ago when I was writing and performing sketch comedy in Manchester. I was involved with a few scratch nights where you could perform new writing and material with a supportive crowd and there were a lot of spoken word artists performing. I thought it would be funny to write some truly awful prose, but presented very earnestly. My first piece was called ‘Castration in the library: Shhhhh’. Initially I performed it as myself, but the character Pamela emerged over a few months. So, I guess she is version of me. Me with total confidence and absolutely no self-awareness. Making her an erotic fiction author seemed very natural. In the last few years since the ‘Fifty Shades series’ there has been an explosion of self-published erotic fiction authors and I felt that Pamela would definitely be cashing in on the action.

In your first show we saw Pamela DeMenthe launch her latest book ‘Sticky Digits.’ What’s next for the erotic fiction writer?

In Pamela’s eyes, Sticky Digits was a roaring success. She sold several copies and there was even talk of a movie deal with an amateur filmmaker from Shepton Mallet.

Now she needs to follow the success of Sticky Digits with a new scorcher; a time travelling prehistoric romp set in Hull: eVULVAlution. But only half way through the writing she is suffering from an acute case of writer’s block. With the book tour already booked and potential sponsor from Beverly mobility Aids showroom she is feeling the pressure.

Who inspires you?

I grew up watching a lot of comedy on television. My Dad really got my brother and I into watching programmes like The Day Today and Alan Partridge, which is where my love for the dark and surreal parody began.  Comedy writer/performers, Julia Davis, Jessica Hynes, Garth Marenghi, Alan Partridge, Chris Morris have all been massively influential on my work. I wrote my dissertation on the Brass Eye paedophile special at drama school and after three months of badgering his agent, I was lucky enough to interview Chris Morris. That still remains a career highlight.

 Why did you choose to create a character around erotic fiction?

Although there is some very good erotic fiction out there, the internet has made it incredibly easy for anyone to publish online. Whether this is a bad thing or not is debatable, but it does mean there is a lack of quality control. As I began performing, I found audiences quickly recognised the trope and were familiar (whether they admitted to it or not) with the genre.  And with the ‘Fifty Shades’ series pushing erotic fiction into the mainstream I knew the genre was ripe for parody.

You’ve been on the scratch scene for over five years now. What challenges have you faced as a theatre maker during that time?

The producing has probably been the toughest aspect for me. Really all I want to do is write and perform but to make this a success I’ve had to produce too. In many ways it’s been good for me, to prove that I can do it, and I’ve learnt so much,  but now I’m making this show with The Lowry, I’m able to focus my time on the creative stuff.

‘eVULVAlution’ has been produced as part of The Lowry’s Artist Development Programme ‘Developed With Artist’. What are the benefits of working alongside a venue like this to create new work?

I get a bespoke package of support to develop the new show. There is a team of people behind me helping and offering guidance and advice. As I’ve worked mainly on my own for the past few years it’s so great to be collaborating. Plus it’s only a short tram ride away!

eVULVAlution is at The Lowry, Salford Quays on 4 and 5 April 2019.

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