GUEST REVIEW
By Barbara Belcore
I was so pleased to see The Oldest Profession at Theater Wit, with my daughter last night, and with only two nights left, I’d absolutely hurry to get a seat. Kaytlin Bailey delivers a fast paced one woman show that somehow manages to be hilarious, deeply informative, personal, and genuinely moving all at once.
Blending stand up, storytelling, and art history, Bailey traces 10,000 years of sex worker history while making the subject incredibly accessible, even for audience members who may know very little about it going in. The show balances humor with serious social commentary in a way that never feels preachy. I found myself laughing one minute and sitting with something profoundly uncomfortable or thought provoking the next.
One of the most powerful threads throughout the show was the comparison between Bailey’s experience as a sex worker and her father’s experience as a soldier, especially the irony that his profession was statistically far more dangerous. Her reflections on how society assigns morality and value to different kinds of labor were sharp and memorable.
The historical sections were fascinating too, from discussions of virginity tests and the weaponization of the word “whore” starting in childhood, to debunking myths like Mary Magdalene being a sex worker. Bailey also explores how institutions, particularly the church, shaped attitudes toward sexuality, women, queer people, and sex workers over centuries.
The opener, Lauren, was fantastic too and set the tone perfectly with a warm, funny set before Bailey took the stage.
It’s rare to see a show that is this funny, this smart, and this human all at the same time. I left entertained, challenged, and still thinking about it hours later.
Barbara is a Chicago-area home birth midwife, maker, theater enthusiast, avid reader, and mom of two quirky, creative teens. She is currently snuggling three cats who are perpetually convinced that they have never been fed.
