Tit Swingers is the provocative name for the new musical from the same company that previously created Julie! The Musical, which told the tale of Julie D’Aubigny, the bisexual swordswoman from 17th-century France

Here, Abi Bradbury and Sam Kearney-Edwardes are telling us about the 18th-century female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who they each respectively appear as, and their colleague/partner/co-captain, Calico Jack (Max Kinder). 

Calico Jack is the ‘he’s just Ken’ of this narrative but with even less focus. This is fine. Kinder excels with the material he has to deliver, and while he is keen to remind us that he and Bonny are ‘co-captains’ of their ship, he seems at ease with allowing the women to take the lead as they tell their own stories for the first time. 

Billed as a Punk Gig Musical, this is a story told in a very similar manner to Julie!, but with a rockier overall sound.

The cast relates the history of each of the women through both the songs and spoken dialogue, although the piece is almost entirely sung. Moments of pure dialogue are few and far between, but used to dramatic effect, to provide emphasis to specific narrative moments.

The title of the production comes from the alleged ‘truth’, that Bonny and Read defeated their enemies whilst having bare breasts. It’s unclear whether this was actually true or retrospective narrativization by those who eventually brought them to justice. 

Costumed in a style best described as “punk rock x new wave”, Bonny and Read are here to take control of their own narrative and ensure their places in immortality, or, at least, the public conscience.

There’s a surprising amount of information about each of the women, although the historical accuracy of the same is regarded as somewhat dubious. However, using these ‘records’, Bonny is introduced as a relatively well-off yet illegitimate child who was disguised as a boy for much of her early life.  

When the disguise was revealed, she moved with her family and eventually ended up in the Caribbean, where she eventually married, possibly somewhat reluctantly. Much of this ‘history’ appears to be pure fabrication, but Bradbury and Kearney-Edwards have used this as a basis to weave a narrative that is at once compelling, intriguing, and occasionally surprisingly funny. 

Bonny is shown as having had few choices in her life that she could make for herself, and her bid for pirate infamy is an example of her controlling her own life and making her own decisions. 

Read’s early life is, however, portrayed here as more mysterious, and Bradbury’s embodiment of the role utilises an air of menace to strongly imply that you shouldn’t ask her any further questions. One possible reason for this is that the ‘official history’ has a story very similar to Bonny’s – with disguise as a boy and the beneficiary of a distant relative both appearing again. Bradbury’s air of menace gives the similar tale a different emotional effect, however, as Read is angry, seemingly with a hair-trigger, and ready to explode at any moment. 

Kearney-Edwardes’ Bonny is quieter, calmer, and more reflective. But she’s still angry about the restrictions placed upon her and the lengths she’s had to go to to make decisions for herself about the life she wants to lead.

That life is, for both Reid and Bonny and also Calico Jack, one of queer nonconformity. This production has chosen to lean heavily into the suggestion that they may have all been involved in intimate relationships with each other. 

Like everything else, almost none of this can be verified. The only things which can are the dates upon which Read and Jack died – the latter executed, the first of fever as her execution was awaited. Bonny’s fate remains mysterious – having been sentenced to hang along with Read, she appears to have vanished from jail, with no one truly clear what may have happened to her.

The telling of this story is accompanied by all three performers playing instruments, switching between lead guitar, bass, and drums as needed. All three are obviously very comfortable with this multi-tasking, and the production as a whole is tightly knit, allowing the performers to interact with each other seemingly with spontaneity. 

As you might expect from a production about piracy and other shenanigans on the high seas, there is more than a little bad language in use throughout. The show is listed as suitable for 18+, and that is absolutely correct. Do not make the mistake that an audience member made when we saw the show of bringing your seven-year-old child with you unless you want to answer some very difficult questions afterwards. Pirates of the Caribbean, this is not. 

Loud, fierce, and enthusiastic, Tit Swingers is a rocky romp through a story of two women who have remained infamous, even when little was actually known about them. Surprisingly heart-warming and emotionally tender at times, this is a show that could set sail on the high seas of Fringe success. 

Tit Swingers continues at Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance Two (venue 33) at 13:40 (1.40pm) daily, until August 26th (not 7th, 14th, 21st)