Betty Grumble Brings ENEMIES OF GROOVINESS EAT SH!T To Edinburgh Fringe
Performances run from 30th July - 24th August.
Betty Grumble storms back to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August, bringing her third solo show and her most mesmerising show yet. Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t is a raw, radical, and unflinching exploration of pain, pleasure, and the power of performance to reclaim agency over the body; an unforgettable love letter to the transformative power of the flesh.
Known for her boundary-pushing work that blends cabaret, ritual theatre, and political protest, Grumble (Emma Maye Gibson) is a cult icon in her native Australia, where she has built a fiercely loyal following for her provocative, high-energy performances. She draws on her personal experiences to create a visceral, defiant, and fiercely joyful performance that challenges societal taboos and celebrates radical self-expression.
Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t confronts the aftermath of Emma Maye's personal experience of intimate partner and patriarchal violence. Grumble's lifelong art quest has been about transforming personal pain into collective acts of healing and defiance. In this show, Grumble's journey includes choosing this time to navigate the complex and often retraumatising processes of seeking justice within a flawed legal system, using the stage as a space to reclaim power and redefine her narrative on her own terms. The show uses this journey to share her creative methodology, honour queer and avant garde mentors and ancestors and share a desire for communal transformation.
Described as a 'grief cum'' by the artist herself, at the heart of the performance is a visceral, full-bodied climax - a radical act of defiance and self-reclamation, with the audience playing a crucial role in guiding Grumble through this powerful, physical release. While the act is undeniably erotic in nature, it is not intended to be shocking, but rather a raw, cathartic expression of grief, power, and survival. With handheld instruments filled with rice, the audience becomes part of the act, their rhythmic, collective energy helping Grumble push through her grief to reach a moment of transformative release - a powerful assertion of autonomy and bodily sovereignty.
Yet despite the intensity of its themes, Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t is also a riotous, irreverent, and often hilarious celebration of the absurdity of being alive. With its wild mix of explicit imagery, poetic monologues, and confrontational humour, the show pulses with a chaotic energy that is at once confronting and life-affirming. Drawing inspiration from feminist icons like Annie Sprinkle and Diamanda Galás, Grumble's work is a cacophanous, celebratory reclamation of the body as a site of resistance, resilience, and ecstatic joy.
Transformative and wild, Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t is both a battle cry and a love letter to those who refuse to be silenced, choosing instead to dance defiantly in the mess and chaos of life. As Grumble herself puts it, 'I am composting myself live onstage, digging into the mess of life to grow something, hopeful and sublime.'
Emma Maye Gibson (AKA Betty Grumble) is a Warrane/Sydney-based performance artist. Largely through the avatar/war mask/love letter/critter of Grumble, she engages her body as a hopeful and medicinal site for catharsis and pleasure. Often moving in a genre smash of ritual theatre, autobiography, cabaret, performance art and multi-media, she is a proud ecosexual and believes in art as an action of her spirituality. She has her Masters in Fine Arts and has presented work at The Sydney Opera House, Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe, Perth & Adelaide Fringes, The Melbourne Comedy Festival, The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Griffin Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, The Bearded Tit, Red Rattler Theatre, OUTsider Festival (Austin, Texas), MoMA (NYC), Joe's Pub (NYC), The Glory (London), LiveWorks, The Old Fitz, AsiaTOPA, Dark Mofo, Mona Foma, Sydney World Pride, Ted X, AGNSW, MCA, Berlin Fringe, Rising Festival and beyond. She believes in the flesh riot, leads Grumble Boogie 'Thank You Body' aerobic psychic love energy dance classes and is currently engaged in developing a new work under the guidance of mentors Dr Annie Sprinkle, Elizabeth Burton and Victoria Spence. Major works include: Sex Clown Saves The World, Love & Anger, The Unshame Machine, GRUMBLISM, Grumble Boogie, Goddess - The Elizabeth Burton Story, Mini Beast Disco, A Composting Cabaret, 24HR Grumble Boogie, Enemies of Grooviness Eat Shit & Body Spell.
Betty Grumble: Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t will be performed at 9.15pm in Assembly Roxy (Upstairs) from 30th July - 24th August (not 6th, 12th, 19th).
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