Harlots, Strumpets and Tarts (Oh My!) review: A warm, witty and very adult female-led thespian walking tour
You’ll love it if:
You want an outdoor adventure that’s a bit different
You like herstory… and walking tours!
Not for you if:
You’ve got the kids with you 👀
After seeing Herstorical Tours’ first endeavour Hex and the City, we were delighted to be invited back to see Harlots, Strumpets and Tarts (Oh My!), a visit to Georgian London to understand the lives and plights of sex workers of the era.
Formed just four months ago, Herstorical Tours was created by our guide Maria a.k.a. 'The Baroness' and completely female-led, bringing womens’ history (ahem, herstory) to life through walking tours with a thespian twist.
Harlots certainly leant into the acting and interaction even more than Hex and the City; Not only was our Baroness donned in full Georgian garb who met us outside Covent Gardens but two further to very enthusiastic actors took on various other characters through the show - catcalling us, offering ‘their wares’ (of various natures) and generally behaving gloriously badly.
Do note that Harlots is recommended for over 18s…
The tour is warm and witty and packed with information about this prolific industry 300 years ago when 1 in 5 (!?) women in London were involved in the trade on either a part- or full-time basis. This was a definite feminist retelling rather than a two-dimensional tale where the women have no agency. There were plentiful tales of women that made the system work for themselves told with a wry eyebrow, plenty of innuendos and a hair flick or two. We learned about astute Madams, courtesans who rose to the very top and women who made as many demands of their clients as I’m sure were made of them.
Be warned though a lot of the history is pretty bleak; violence, abuse, indentured labour boarding on slavery, addiction, disease and of course the overt misogyny that was par for the course in 18th century Britain. This misogyny was unfortunately not so relegated to the annals of history as we would have liked. Our Baroness was verbally harassed by a man for not stopping for a photo while doing the tour. This was dismissed by Maria with all the quick wit of a professional but the modern example of assumptions and hostility truly brought home the relevance today of stories of women fending for themselves.
Fun is definitely the central aim of the experience but these underlying, darker themes are taken very seriously and handled with care. The tour walks the line beautifully between entertainment and heartfelt consideration of the history.
We walked away still discussing the details between ourselves, helped (not going to lie) by the complimentary shot of gin served at the Nell Gwyn. A must for anyone looking for a walking tour that’s completely different.
Harlots and Strumpets and Tarts (Oh My!) runs on Tuesdays and Sundays throughout summer 2022. Tickets are £24.50 and available here