Every transphobe's wet dream? Daniela Špinar's spicy stand-up will disarm you with honesty and rainbow dildos. But there's also a crucial message

Five years after coming out

For those who are tired of reading reviews, let's make a TLDR to start with. So: what is Daniela Špinar's new stand-up? Bold. Very queer and even more explicit. Personal. Well-pointed. At times sad and justifiably painful. And not least theatrical - in the best sense of the word. (If you're intrigued by the dildo in the title, you'll have no choice but to read on.)

And now a touch of context. In 2021, when Daniela Špinar went through a public coming out as a trans woman, it was the first time ever that a media-famous Czech personality announced that she was transitioning - and we can only shake our heads in disbelief at how shaky a topic the mere existence of trans women in society has become over the years.

Obscene vanilla? Meet

If we wanted to give hateful people the attention they don't deserve, we could say that the stand-up comedy Give Me the Mic, I've Got Your Purse essentially materializes every transphobe's nightmare (read: wet dream). However, no incident is presented on stage either on purpose or in isolation.

Explicit situational humour is pleasantly balanced by the intellectual level of the author's thinking, thanks to which stand-up proves that obscene ≠ trashy. If you enjoyed the second season of the cult series Good Morning, Brno!, in which Daniela Špinar plays Daniela Špinar excellently, you will probably laugh out loud at her sexually incorrect, sexually charged tape. (Those who have read the director's diary-like Notes from Transition will probably not be surprised by the degree of frankness.)

What you're looking at?

Daniela Špinar sows humour so deftly that she reaps one volley of raucous laughter after another, but she's equally good at creating rare but all the more impressive moments of mournful silence, when she deliberately lets the audience feel the weighty truths that trans women in the Czech Republic have to live with.

The queer essence that permeates the entire performance from the first notes of Vogue is intriguingly framed by the openly proclaimed desire for a monogamous, vanilla heterosexual relationship.

The former head of the Drama Department of the National Theatre has naturally applied her theatrical talent: in Give me the microphone, I have my purse, there is no shortage of significant props (a giant rainbow dildo in the hands of Daniela Špinar is played by several comic mini-roles), there are a few times when singing is used in imitation, and the individual parts of Daniela's costume have their significance in the plot of the whole stand-up.

The whole performance seems to teeter on the edge of autobiographical monodrama, which at first glance contrasts a bit with the usual stand-up performances that we often associate with civilian appearance and speech.

From Christianity to dubbing porn

As the stories progress, in which Daniela takes you on a self-ironic excursion not only to her library (where intellectual literature has been displaced by 54 handbags arranged according to uncompromising OCD standards), but perhaps also to a Christian camp or the retro backstage of porn-dabbing, you realise that THIS is to some extent the author's civil. As much as the acclaimed director has been freelancing in various theatres across the country in recent years, it's clear that she feels "at home" and in her element on the stage of the alternative Venus in Švehlovka. And lively, her stand-up definitely is.

At times, the artist's self-revealing and self-conscious honesty may even seem "too much". The pride of LGBT people is beautiful, but shamelessness? We're not used to it - and this is where Daniela Špinar is a great teacher.

A hidden message? Sovereign and necessary

It takes courage to be a trans woman in the Czech Republic (and, unfortunately, elsewhere in the world). For a more authentic and contented existence, individuals not gifted with empathy and respect will "reward" you with insults, hatred, contempt, rejection and misunderstanding. Probably so that your minority stress of sheer joie de vivre doesn't accidentally fall away. And that's exactly why Daniela Špinar's hilarious stand-up also carries a completely serious and follow-worthy message that all LGBT+ people need to hear in the public space right now.

"I'm here. I am holding the space that rightfully belongs to me. And I will not be diminished or tamed because of hate."

Such sovereignty deserves applause. And maybe even a '55 purse.

If you missed the first opening night, you'll get another chance to see the stand-up comedy Give Me the Microphone, I've Got the Purse on Friday, May 15 (and only), again at Venus in Švehlovka.