Humour, horror and hysteria: Burlesque goes manic

This wrap of shows around Melbourne Fringe takes a look at a five star feminist burlesque that takes on the ridiculous history of hysteria.

THEATRE Batsh*t ★★★★★
Leah Shelton, Northcote Town Hall, until October 15

This feminist burlesque on mental illness tackles a depressing subject with manic delight, though you shouldn’t take that description as any form of diagnosis. Quite the opposite.

Leah Shelton in Batshit at Melbourne Fringe. Credit:Pia Johnson

You don’t have to read Foucault to understand that psychiatry functions as a means of social control, and for all its glam horror and subversive visual antics, Batsh*t is grounded by a sane and sensitive view of its history.

Broader critique emerges from a deeply personal quest.

Leah Shelton in Batshit at Melbourne Fringe.Credit:Pia Johnson

Leah Shelton’s maternal grandmother Gwen was institutionalised in the early 1960s with schizophrenia. She’d moved to a separate bedroom from her husband, lost interest in her role as wife and mother, and had become prone to acts of rage – including taking an axe to a television when her grandkids watched too much of it.

That incident kicks off the show in a comically grotesque physical theatre sequence which transforms into a literal visual gag when Shelton, dressed as a deranged blonde bombshell wearing a mouth restraint, erupts into a frantic, barely comprehensible rendition of Get Happy – a song immortalised by Judy Garland, whose own mental health faced intense public scrutiny.

Shelton weaves together meticulous research into Gwen’s experience (including revealing family interviews) and an incisive exploration of how gender influences psychiatric medicine.

Humour and horror converge as the ridiculous history of hysteria is revealed, complete with a puppetry trick that lampoons a woman’s womb strangling various organs. Other triumphs of visual design include a lady vanishing into a psychiatrist’s couch.

From this distance, it isn’t hard to see how being treated with antipsychotic drugs and electroshock therapy – after deviating from “normal” behaviour for a farmer’s wife in the 1960s – looks suspiciously like coercive control.

Yet Shelton questions how much progress has been made, contrasting vox pops and TV footage and medical data from the 1960s and today to illustrate the long shadow of patriarchal oppression.

Directed by UK burlesque legend Ursula Martinez, Batsh*t premiered at the Brisbane Festival and if it channels the rebellious spirit and experimental edge of fringe theatre, the show has the production values, and Shelton’s performance has the polish, of a work ready for international tour.

It’s moving and thought-provoking visual theatre that’s also terrific fun.
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead

COMEDY Sunanda Loves Britney ★★★½
Sunanda, until 14 October

Sunanda at Melbourne Fringe.Credit:Roxanne Halley

As the title Sunanda Loves Britney suggests, this is an ode to the original “Princessa del Pop” and how she helped the comedian come out (and develop an appreciation for blondes). Directed by Candy Bowers (Hot Brown Honey), Sunanda’s routine opens with a powerful, seductively aggressive rendition of Britney Spears’ Gimme More.

Throughout their routine, Sunanda lays critique on the “toxic basic bitches” of the inner north of Melbourne, while comparing their conservative upbringing within the Punjabi milieu in Bangkok to Britney’s own oppressive conservatorship.

Sunanda’s dramatic chops shone when they appropriate well-known tracks from the songstress’s body of work as a storytelling tool and wove lyrical puns into the monologue. However, they needed to tie the socio-political commentary more cohesively with the fangirl moments, which can be honed as the routine evolves. The musical numbers will make you yell “hit me baby, one more time”.
Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar

VISUAL ART A Rainbow of Tomorrows ★★★★★
Curated by Stone Motherless Cold, Koorie Heritage Trust, until November 12

Peter Waples Crowe’s (Ngarigu) work Fractured Power which is on display at A Rainbow of Tomorrows at Melbourne Fringe.Credit:Christian Capurro

It’s all too easy to look around today and despair. But joyous art like Deadly Fringe-supported exhibition A Rainbow of Tomorrows can pull us back from the brink.

Curated by Arrernte artist Stone Motherless Cold, they have assembled exciting artists who decolonise by projecting hopeful visions of a Blak queer utopia. Stone’s personal contribution includes a hypnotic self-portrait video work, Kwatye Nymph. Depicting them dripping in azure blue soaking into red dirt, it’s accompanied by Stone’s arresting poem The Fae.

Collaborator Elijah Money (Wiradjuri) presents Pearlescent Viscous, a luminous, tapestry-like print that playfully fuses nudes with oysters and flowers in a reclamation that rescues bodies from colonially enforced gender and sexuality constructs. Also magnificent are Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta artist Enoki’s reappropriations of Renaissance paintings, Peter Waples-Crowe’s (Ngarigu) glowing collage work, and a stunning corella feather corset fashioned by Weilwan artist Corin Corcoran. Overwhelmingly beautiful and remarkably powerful.
Reviewed by Stephen A Russell

CABARET Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody ★★★
The Hairy Godmothers, Trades Hall, until October 9

Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody at Melbourne Fringe.Credit:Sheridan Lamb

It’s every childhood favourite like you’ve never seen before: a Peter Pan bent on dismantling toxic masculinity, a Pocahontas normalising menstruation through interpretive dance, an Ariel fascinated by sex toys, and a Hairy Godmother granting wishes with their “magic durry”.

In what can only be described as “woke, dirty Disney”, drag queens and kings alike help a young Prince Charming find their one true love, only to realise that self-love was paramount all along. Cliché yet self-aware, the morals of this story are as subtle as the Hairy Godmother’s bright pink fairy floss wig.

Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody rewrites the storybooks, subverting all questionable moral boundaries set in the original text through tongue-in-cheek, R 18+ rated narratives that leave the audience as bewildered as they are entranced. The discomfort of having stories of your childhood infiltrated with randy dwarves and an aggressively sex-positive Gaston is a hard pill to swallow. It taints the innocent, pure ideals of youth. But if you manage to brush the awkwardness aside, the familiar tunes of each song and undeniable charisma of those on stage will have you “part of that world”.
Reviewed by Nell Geraets

CABARET Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett ★★★★★
Runaway Festival Park, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, until October 30

Club Kabarett at Melbourne Fringe

Isn’t it joyous when an enthralled crowd spontaneously stomps its feet to show appreciation, swept up in the ecstasy of witnessing gloriously talented artists performing extraordinary feats?

German-born MC Bernie Dieter tells the story of her Oma (grandma) who, having run a travelling circus, taught her to be “whatever the f–k she wanted to be.” And so her Club Kabarett is a supreme representation of “punks, freaks and weirdos,” who celebrate difference. Hoola Hoop hottie (Dieter’s description) Adam Malone is fun and wonderous. World champion pole-dancing superstar Blue Phoenix had me close to tears with movements so seductive, so effortless, so beautiful. Aerialists The Two Fathoms expertly intertwine bodies – combining athleticism and prowess. Diva songstress Myra Dubois is hilarious, encouraging a most bizarre sing-a-long. Her acerbic audience put-downs reminiscent of Dame Edna Everage. And is it even dark cabaret without a fire-breathing sensation? Welcome to Ms Fury.

Inspired by the likes of Siouxsie Sioux, Frank-N-Furter and Marlene Dietrich, Dieter’s audience interaction is often hilarious, sometimes debauched and always mesmerising. Just don’t try to touch her bottom before she gives you the okay.

Full-frontal nudity isn’t to titillate but an opportunity to celebrate the fabulous skill of hair-hanging artist Fancy Chance – an invitation to respect and admire captivating, ethereal talent. The Mistress of Mayhem proclaims “there’s scary shit going on in the world and we need nights like this.” An uplifting, raucous standing ovation ensues.

There’s no need for the apology that comes toward the end of the experience. “I’m sorry if you came with your parents,” Dieter says.

Through dramatic costume changes, a superb live band and slick staging, Dieter expresses her appreciation for a receptive crowd, revelling in the rousing cacophony of applause, yelping and laughter. And as Dieter thanks the hundreds who’ve crammed into the magnificent Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent for living in the moment, she also tells the audience they are “f–king phenomenal”. Frankly, all I can say is ditto, Dieter, ditto.
Reviewed by Donna Demaio

COMEDY Plenty of Fish ★★★★
Loop Bar, Until October 22

Plenty of Fish at Melbourne Fringe.Credit:Tori Davies

Matt Bell, an old hand at improv yet fresh to stand-up, sold out his first solo comedy show. Bubbling with nervous energy, he was spotted doing a final tech-check at 5:25pm, five minutes before show time.

His fidgety vibe persists, as a carefully constructed, admirably researched, quirky routine unfolds. We hear about dating dramas. An hour of storytelling is punctuated with outrageous tales of dud dates, romantic failings and ridiculous happenings.

David Attenborough-inspired slides accompany his witty contemplations, while Disney movie references have the audience nodding and sniggering. After candid self-reflection, carried by a crowd clearly rooting for him, he leads us to a marvellous revelation.

Admittedly, Bell only sold out a 25 seat back-room. Yet, it feels he could be on his way. Possibly soon, he may even headline a front-room.
Reviewed by Donna Demaio

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