Alison Bechdel’s iconic cartoon has been adapted into an audio drama. Dykes to Watch Out For ran from 1983 to 2008, documenting lesbian relationships, community, and politics for 25 years. It followed the story of Mo, an anxious but charming lesbian committed to her feminist politics, and her larger-than-life group of friends and lovers. Now Pulitzer-nominated playwright Madeleine George has brought this groundbreaking classic to a new medium, and a fresh generation of lesbians.
It’s been a year since Mo last had sex. And she’s ready to meet Ms Right. The trouble is, nobody seems to live up to her impossible standards. Nobody until Harriet, a human rights investigator who shares her love of protest. But Mo’s too awkward to make a move. And none of her friends exactly have it together either.
Lois has a new woman in her bed every day – sometimes more than one! When it comes to love, Lois is a rolling stone. After six years together, Clarice and Toni are at a crossroads – corporate business manager Toni wants a baby, but Clarice has met someone at one of her many activist groups. Their relationships are complicated, but these women are bound together by friendship, community, and the odd love affair.
At three hours and ten chapters long, it’s an easy listen. And included free with an Audible membership! Which makes Dykes to Watch Out For the perfect listen for during a hike or a morning catching up on chores. But really wherever you listen, whatever you’re doing, you won’t be disappointed. George’s adaptation has all the fun of the original, and is obviously infused with deep love for the source material.
Plus, the cast is perfection. Jane Lynch is our narrator, her upbeat and playful delivery making the three hour drama breeze past. With a hint of irony, she describes the hummus wraps and ethnical non-monogamy, the protests and feminist reading groups, that make up our characters’ everyday lives.
Dykes to Watch Out For was always a very self-aware comic strip, able to laugh at lesbian community even while recording it with total care. And Lynch’s narration strikes that same tone – fond, but self-deprecating enough that – no matter how often characters climb onto their soap boxes – Dykes to Watch Out For never becomes a sermon. Her performance is stellar.
And we couldn’t ask for a better Mo than Carrie Brownstein. Best known as one third of iconic riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney, Brownstein has since branched out into acting. And her experience on Portlandia developed a pitch-perfect comic delivery that serves Brownstein well in this role. She nails every last one of Mo’s rants about capitalism, the environment, and lesbian feminism.
Brownstein’s Mo is fiercely political yet paralyzed by uncertainty; chaotic and more than a little bit neurotic. But also brave, funny. Sincere enough that it’s obvious why friends and lovers are drawn to her, in spite of Mo’s obvious flaws.
Brownstein’s isn’t the only voice you’ll recognise. Roberta Colindrez – known for A League of Their Own and starring in the stage adaptation of another Bechdel story, Fun Home – plays Lois, the lesbian Lothario of the group. Her performance will resolve any doubts readers might have had about Lois’s success with the ladies.
Also, fans of lesbian audiobooks are in for a treat. Veteran audiobook narrators Emily Woo Zeller and Lori Prince are part of the all-star ensemble cast.
Dykes to Watch Out For is an essential listen. Though it began in the early ‘80s, the issues Mo and her friends face will be familiar to many modern listeners. And none of that history has been re-written – Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and Mary Daly are spoken of with real fondness by the characters, which was certainly a risk in today’s political climate.
Audible have put together another fantastic lesbian story. And there’s good news! Since this drama covers only the early chapters of Mo’s story, there’s still plenty of room for a sequel or five.
