Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to see the show Helping Hands. Held in the La Mama Courthouse black box space, it created a vivid picture of some aspects of living as an autistic person in an allistic—not autistic—society. Not only was it compelling and entertaining, but it was also incredibly informative on the…
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If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear? If your vagina could talk, what would it say? Stepping into the bar at The Butterfly Club, my vagina, dressed in Melbournian comfort chic, was happily humming in anticipation of the night’s show, ready and waiting to be coaxed with deft works and a welcoming smile….
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The Flappaganza is the latest and boldest evolution of Tara Dowler and Lou Mapleston’s musical comedy act, Pink Flappy Bits. This sex-positive, feminist comedy showcases a plethora of talented performers in a style that is both daring and charmingly self-deprecating. Unlike previous shows by Pink Flappy Bits, The Flappaganza is a collaborative act that features…
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Tangos, valiant phrases and spirited performances – Women on the Verge is a political act that recreates different phases of female subjugation. In a misogynistic society, women are shamed into keeping male dominated acts of abuse to themselves. The play sums up a lifetime of abuse women undergo wordlessly. The play comprises of four…
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The play Women on The Verge produced by the Bridge (Teatro Latino) Theatre company demonstrates both subtle and explicit gender inequalities in society. Directed by Jamie Wilson Ramirez, the production is based on four monologues written by Dario Fo and Franca Rame during the 1970s – 1980s. The adaption brings slight changes to the performance,…
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The Bachela-la-la – Impromptunes What: Australia’s top improvised musical comedy troupe, Impromptunes, returns from Edinburgh Fringe with a brand new show, based on popular reality TV show “The Bachelor”. When: 8 – 13 Nov Cost: $25-32 Where: The Butterfly Club, Melbourne Morgan Stern – Gina Schien What: Pills. Neon Tertras. Beatles. Bedlam. Morgan Stern is a story of two…
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Ilana Charnelle: A Class Act What: This show is a visual album with a difference. The visual elements are played out on stage, weaving together Charnelle’s stunning music with unspoken narratives and beautiful imagery. When: 19–23 October, 7pm. Where: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Melbourne. Cost: $25-$32 IMA Annual Party and Opening, Nicholas Mangan, Limits to Growth What: The…
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‘Becoming Bette’ is a one-woman show by artist and performer Elizabeth Scales. Hailing from Brisbane, she brings her show to Melbourne for a pre-Fringe festival viewing. Held at the Butterfly Club across the weekend of the 10th and 11th of September, Scales’ viewing was a cozy and intimate one. The show is a semi-autobiographical story…
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If you’re anything like me when it comes to talking 16th Century monarchs, I’m sure we’re all familiar with the glorified images provided to us by Hollywood and the likes. I just assume there’s a lot of velvet and feasting going on, mixed in with a whole bunch of inequality towards all minorities, specifically women….
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Two weeks ago I got my first tattoo. When my dad found out, he asked if I was drunk, very loudly, down the phone. ‘I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to tattoo drunk people, Dad.’ Honestly, we’re British, so naturally, even though I know that my dad doesn’t like tattoos, I assumed that he’d just never…
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Cabaret’s roots date back to the 1880s when bohemian poets, artists and composers would gather in French saloons to share creative ideas. It developed into a style of alcohol-infused risqué musical performance, notoriously characterised by improvisation, audience interactivity and small, intimate venues. In 2016, performers Tara Dowler and Louise Mapleston infuse cabaret, musical comedy and…
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Geraldine Brophy, actress, playwright and author of The Viagra Monologues, says of her recent foray into the male mind: ‘Parenthood, marriage, celibacy, puberty, virginity, are all complex things that influence human experience, for better or for worse. They are common human experiences, not the province of any gender.’ This notion regarding the experiential equivalence of…
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Mother’s Ruin: A Cabaret about Gin is a riotous journey through the history of gin and its associations with the most scandalous of women. Once the scourge of the masses, now drink du jour, gin is an unlikely but surprisingly entertaining topic for a cabaret. Performed by Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood, under the direction…
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#FirstWorldWhiteGirls is a light-hearted cabaret that satirises that special group of people who live for hashtags, Tiffany’s, and fifteen minutes of fame. Brisbanites Judy Hainsworth and Kaitlin Oliver Parker have brought their #totallyOTT characters Tiffany and Kendall to Melbourne as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. The characters (a trust fund princess and Anna Nicole…
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