Bebe Cave: Swoon

Swoon is a stand-up comedy show by Bebe Cave that satirises the Pre-Raphaelite painters and the women who posed for them. It is staged in Leeds at Hyde Park Book Club.

Swoon is a stand-up and comedy show by Bebe Cave, an award-winning character comedian and actress. It examines the idea of historical female main character syndrome, setting its focus in the Victorian era, when women did not yet have the vote. Through the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of painters, and their best-known models, the show mocks self-important male artistry and the way women were turned into idealised painted objects.

Bebe Cave asks why women have been treated as beautiful artistic subjects, particularly when dead, while the men who painted them are so difficult and very much alive. Performed solo on stage, the comedy combines character work, slapstick and sharp observation. Reviewers have praised its sharpness and silliness, and the production has been nominated for an award.

The show is staged at Hyde Park Book Club, a Leeds venue that hosts shows throughout the year.