Recently performed at the Camden People’s Theatre – part of the innovative and urgent ‘Calm Down, Dear : a festival of feminism’ . The piece is a story about love and loneliness, and a comedy about changing the way you look. And it contains pole dancing, which means it’s about that too. The Very Thought explores contemporary debate on feminism and pole dancing, and has been developed with support from Exeter Framework’s In Your Space program, associated with the Bike Shed Theatre. It will be touring the UK throughout Spring and Summer 2015. "Creates an inescapable intimacy with the audience... Mesmerising in its skill and humility" - Razz, Feb 2014 'we are all a bit in love with @rosebiggin now.Great show @CamdenPT tonight!' Sh!t Theatre (@shittheatre)

Source: http://exeuntmagazine.com/features/from-devon-with-love/ The potential for more discomforting voyeurism is suggested by the subject matter of Rose Biggin’s The Very Thought, but it soon becomes apparent that pole-dancing delivers the narrative of this subtly moving and funny piece rather than driving it, while also forcing us to confront how we feel about seeing and looking – especially in relation to witnessing personal revelation. From the moment Violet enters the space, carrying her ‘I don’t sweat – I sparkle’ kit bag, and greets us as her intermediate class, the associations we may have made about the physical act of pole-dancing quickly disperse; this is pole-dancing as exercise, as an activity to build strength and flexibility, to empower through ability. But soon Violet’s bright demeanour and breezy humour fade and we’re gazing upon something far more exposing than a lycra-clad body spinning around a metal pole – we see a woman gradually stripped bare to reveal the emotional pain beneath. As Violet’s ‘intermediate’ class, we are immediately attributed with a certain level of ability, and as the ‘expert’ instructor she goes on to demonstrate impressive prowess and dexterity. Yes, she tells us, many of the moves hurt, no matter how good you...

Source print only. https://twitter.com/rosebiggin/status/474184230004854784/photo/1 Rose Biggin is utterly bewitching - a performer of the highest calibre. You could watch her for hours. If a tout flogged you a £10 ticket for ten minutes, it would be a bargain. She gives us Violet, beautifully brought to life in all her neuroticism and distraction. Violet is all over the place, disintegrating in front of our eyes. But while her mind is a mess, her body is a thing of beauty and she certainly knows how to use it. Violet is a pole dancer teaching an overflow class. She works at Vertical Expression and provides her students with a rounded curriculum - snippets of literature and life alongside pole dancing. 'Vertical Expression', she says, is a quote from Shaw (or was it Wilde), "Dancing... is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire." In the finest solo pole dance you are ever likely to see, Violet/Rose demonstrates in movement that GBS had a point but forgot to mention that it's also a handy vehicle for the portrayal of anguish and abandonment. Biggin has an ability that many aspiring actors never acquire. She enters her space, gathers the audience in with a look, delivers...

Source http://razzmag.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/review-the-very-thought-at-the-bikeshed-theatre/ 'The Very Thought’ brings The Bikeshed Theatre’s From Devon with Love Festival to a climactic close. The Bikeshed, together with their development programme, Framework, has brought us three weeks of varied and brilliant theatre from Devon’s own performance artists. Giving locals the platform for their pieces, The Bikeshed supports innovative works, showcasing everything from poetry to dance, and amateurs to the likes of the SourDough Theatre Company and Jojo Spinks. The Theatre is not only a beautifully intimate, quirky space (tales of their cocktails have also reached the tabloids) but champions the county’s emerging rich, creative scene. ‘The Very Thought’, developed from the 2012 ‘Vertical Expression’ in a residency at The Unit as part of Framework’s ‘In Your Space’ programme. Rose Biggin fits naturally into the role of unstable pole dancing instructor, Violet, with equal grace and madness. For an alarming moment, the audience almost expects to be participating in Violet’s class at the Vertical Expression academy, a reference to George Bernard Shaw; ‘Dancing: The vertical expression of a horizontal desire’. Violet’s façade diminishes throughout the play as she divulges her story and we see more, very honest, glimpses of emotion. We gradually piece together who she...