When Amy’s hair starts to fall out, she loses something else in the process – her confidence, her connection with her femininity and her ability to show her real self to those around her. From facing her trauma, and discovering the power of drag, she begins to explore a new identity – reclaiming words used against her and owning her true self.
Based on writer-performer Emily Glaze’s personal experiences of losing her hair to alopecia at 21, and surviving a sexual assault, BASIC BALD B*TCH is an unflinching look at the pressure on women to conform to societal ideas of beauty, sexuality and body image.
The piece begins with a court case, although what has happened is left intentionally vague and only begins to become clear as the play progresses. The Amy we meet is an anxious figure, dressed down in a tracksuit, as she tries to find the perfect wig to conceal her baldness so that she can go on a date. The wigs, she tells us, have personalities, and as she is drawn to each a little of her own starts to show through. It is clear that she is struggling to adapt to her new circumstances, and that pretence reflects the sense of denial that she seems to be trapped in.
Glaze gives a compelling performance as Amy, a woman consumed by a shame that is becoming harder and harder to hide. The commentary on beauty standards and expectations is keen and thought-provoking, and she intermittently breaks out of the linear narrative to lip sync songs, including by Britney Spears, who became infamous for shaving her head when in mental distress – a parallel that feels poignant.
When the reality of her assault becomes clear, Amy recounts the interactions she had with health professionals, with the importance of a supportive, trauma-informed response from medics key to finding a way through.
Despite themes that could otherwise feel very heavy, Glaze has great comic timing and the dialogue is smart and well observed. Coupled with the drag performance, this culminates in a piece that has a rebirth at its heart, and a feeling that Amy is overcoming her darker times and looking forward with positivity.
By Deborah Klayman
BASIC BALD B*TCH plays at Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh until August 30th 2026.
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