Whips and power tools, broken glass and staple guns, oh my!

Welcome to Sideshow Femmes, a night out with the women mothers warned their sons (and daughters) about. Bringing to the centre of the stage the circus freaks that are usually pushed to the side, this world premiere comes to FRINGE WORLD from Queensland-based Vaudeville Consortium.

Pint-sized firecracker Scarlet Tinkabelle, Miss Burlesque Brisbane 2019, paid homage to the showgirl glam of the golden age of Hollywood, before her transformation into a one woman dance chorus line. She then proceeded to explore how much total skin area she could scorch with her fire act, which was so hot, it was surprising the sprinklers weren’t set off.

The MC was Feisty, both by name and nature. When she said her adrenaline was through the roof after one particularly energetic piece, she spoke for the entire venue.

Had they really seen all that? Surely it wasn’t real, one watcher asked of the staple gun. Yes, it was, the performer answered post-show, the puncture marks in her skin front and centre.

Also, the pin drop silence of a full audience’s sharp intake of breath, as something unimaginable is about half a second from happening. This happened multiple times – the sound of a person’s knee grinding into glass will particularly stick in the mind. Squirming in the most deliciously delightful way.

From classic routines, through some that wouldn’t be out of place in fetish clubs, to literal beds of nails, South Perth hadn’t had this much fun since the baby giraffe was born at the zoo. With the frisson of excitement, of danger, that things could so easily go awry. These performers, these women, were putting their bodies on the line, for our entertainment. Very Gladiator.

Femmes is not your usual bump and grind burlesque revue. Lots of jaw-dropping, lots of fun. Also, each night a different line up, no two shows will be the same.