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116 Grams: A Play to Lose Weight review – a shocking satire of body policing
Letícia Rodrigues’s 116 Grams: A Play to Lose Weight is a fiercely satirical and emotionally raw Edinburgh Fringe performance about body policing, shame and the scrutiny faced by women deemed overweight. Framed as an attempt to lose 116 grams during a one-hour show, it exposes the damaging expectations placed on female bodies and challenges assumptions about who is allowed to appear on stage.
Rodrigues plays Gorda, an autobiographical Brazilian character shaped by childhood diet clubs and later rejected at castings because of her size. Performed in Portuguese with English surtitles, the show combines exercise, dance, boxing and near-nudity with music by Britney Spears and Swan Lake; its final ballet is described as moving rather than celebratory, underlining the pressure to shrink or erase bodies such as hers.
In short
- A provocative Fringe satire confronts female body surveillance.
- Rodrigues turns weight loss into a painful theatrical challenge.
- The review calls it brave, shocking and emotionally powerful.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
This work provides valuable artistic critique of documented body policing harms affecting women's opportunities and wellbeing. Satire, as an established artistic form, effectively exposes societal absurdities that direct argument might not reach, and this performance's sophistication—combining multiple performance modes with classical art references—elevates its commentary beyond mere complaint. By bringing such critique to a major cultural venue like Edinburgh Fringe, the work ensures visibility for systemic discrimination that audiences might otherwise overlook.
The case against
Whilst body policing causes real harm, a performance structured around losing weight—even satirically—risks keeping audiences trapped within the very problematic frameworks the work intends to critique. Art addressing these issues might more effectively serve audiences by celebrating bodies as unconditionally worthy rather than primarily critiquing the systems that shame them, as this alternative approach could better help people move beyond obsession with bodily transformation. Furthermore, framing resistance as requiring personal performance and visibility may inadvertently suggest that overcoming bias depends on individual spectacle rather than systemic change.
Explained simply
Body policing means judging, monitoring or trying to change someone’s body to fit social expectations. Women who are considered overweight can face pressure to lose weight, as well as shame and exclusion in settings such as entertainment and theatre.
Brazilian performer Letícia Rodrigues draws on her own experiences in the character Gorda, including childhood diet clubs and being turned away from acting auditions because of her size. The performance uses movement, music and spoken Portuguese with English surtitles to explore how those experiences shape a person’s relationship with her body.
The story matters because it raises questions about who gets to be seen on stage and which bodies are treated as acceptable. It also examines how demands to become smaller can affect women’s confidence and opportunities.