Best known as the founder of seminal
American art rock band Throwing Muses,
Kristin Hersh presents a riveting solo
spoken word and musical performance
drawn from her acclaimed memoir, Rat Girl
(published by Penguin USA), recalling a
year in the life of a teenage girl wrestling
with issues of mental illness, creativity,
teenage pregnancy and the pressures of
sudden fame.
Often quite funny, at times harrowing and
always candid, this wry and vivid work
characterizes Hersh’s double life as a
cripplingly shy artist who is simultaneously
recognized for her brutal honesty in the
spotlight.
Combining film, music and a scripted
narrative excerpted from the book, the
show is a singularly intense, moving and
thoroughly original experience, the impact
of which continues to resonate long after
the show ends
Praise for Kristin & “Paradoxical Undressing”:
“Hersh is a fearless rock innovator.” The New York Times
“Sensitive and emotionally raw... it’s also wildly
funny.” The New York Times Sunday Book Review
“Combines a child's spontaneity with a mature
artist's understanding.” The Washington Post
“Hersh is a tremendous poet and an engaging
host, and this candid performance is a
magnificently charged union of Sylvia Plath and
Patti Smith.” The Guardian, UK (5/5 Stars)
“Powerful, yet gently mesmerizing.” The Independent, UK (4/4 Stars)
“Compelling...(Hersh) describes eloquently,
beautifully and with no small amount of poetry
the pain and alienation of losing one’s mind.” The Times (UK)
“Entrancing and funny...her storytelling sucks you in.” The Sydney Morning Herald (Aus)
“Hersh has pretty much been to hell and back
and lived to tell the tale...extremely well written.” The Huffington Post
“With its reined in plot line and ethereal prose
style, Rat Girl reads more like a novel...a
pleasure to read.” Slate Magazine
50FOOTWAVE
books
Kristin Hersh
Paradoxical Undressing
Throwing Muses
