Hot White Kiss

Hot White Kiss

Hot White Kiss Rating

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1

Written and directed by James WF Roberts, Hot White Kiss is an hour-long play focusing on five individuals, all sporadically linked through polyamorous & bisexual relationships with each other. Yet sparking and fuelling their individual flames isn’t oxygen, but the dangerous elements of addiction, abuse, trauma, and self-destruction.

The story, stemming from a poem Roberts previously wrote, is no stranger to The Butterfly Club. It now returns almost a year later as part of the Midsumma Festival and with a larger cast. Sticking with its previous venue proves to be an asset, as Hot White Kiss’ gritty themes fit perfectly with the grungy, basement-esque setting of the Club.

The show follows Leena, a heroin addict who cannot see the harm she’s inflicting on herself and others, and John, a wannabe poet trying to get out of the harmful addictions he’s found himself dealing with, including Leena. Surrounding them is Cilla, a drug-dealer who is obsessed with controlling Leena’s life, and a married polyamorous couple (Bill & Taylah), who see the harm from a far but do little to help.

Savier D’Arsie-Marquez (John) and Olivia Buckton Smith (Leena) stand out as the two main characters, who appear to have no positive reason to stay together. Not that it would stop them. They both portray a great amount of hurt and panic through their deliveries and expressions, that had them feeling like genuine people.

Most of the audience stayed wide-eyed and quiet throughout the performance of emotions on stage – but the few large laughs that broke through came from D’Arsie-Marquez’s ability to have fun with the dialogue in well-timed moments that made his character shine.

Considering the topics of the show, it felt there shouldn’t be a personified villain to the story. Yet Cilla’s (Bridgette Kucher) Joker-like smirk and constant manipulation of Leena often evoked that anger. There weren’t many redeeming parts that made us understand why Lenna stays with her, well portraying the abusive relationships you sometimes question from the outside.

The interpersonal relationships between each of the characters are constantly calamitous. All of them using the other people as person-shaped climbing block to get higher and leaving the other bleeding down below. But no one truly ends up on top.

However, a lot of the romances between characters felt slightly fabricated. It would have been enjoyable to see there be a bit more of a connection or backstory between the two leads. One of their most interesting scenes when reminiscing their past together was more like a tease of a flame that left you wanting to understand more of their relationship.

An unfortunate and constant jarring of the show came from the music played between scenes and set-ups. The audio’s sudden slice through the tension and emitting from the back of the theatre gave an illusion of a phone going off in the seats. By the time the understanding came that it wasn’t that, the emotional tether had already been cut. If it could fade in/out or come from behind the curtain instead, it would help keep the tension high.

Overall, the show was strong in the moments it felt grounded and real between characters. And though confrontations ended with not a lot of pay off and a few things left unanswered – it felt supportive of the less than comforting ending you often get when involved with addiction and toxic relationships like these.

And if they were hoping to raise addiction awareness additionally – one man leaving the theatre who noted, “Well…I’m never going to do heroin” certainly got the message.

To book tickets to Hot White Kiss, please visit https://thebutterflyclub.com/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Tongue in Cheeks

A Body At Work

A Body At Work Rating

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Whatever I thought I was expecting from the show, ‘A Body At Work, the tale of a queer woman’s 17 years, and counting, in the sex industry,’ I was not expecting the undiluted eloquence of the artist in both body and mind.

Frankie van Kan sidles onto the stage quietly, adding the finishing touches to her makeup while the audience continues to file in, tousling their art student hair-do’s and taking their seats. Whilst I, possibly the only straight woman in the audience, and certainly the only one on a date night with her husband, quietly placed my pearls within easy clutching distance. (Yes, I willingly took my man to see another woman up close and very, very personal.)

The moment the lights go down, Frankie slides quickly into action and is almost entirely naked within the first few minutes of her opening monologue. It’s an act that is both deliberate (get the nudity out of the way early and the audience can get comfortable with it) and excitingly ‘naughty’ and we are all immediately seduced by both her candour and her unabashed delight and confidence in herself.

Throughout the 80 minute show, which is an account of her 17 years of work in the sex industry, she shares raunchy stories that induce laughter and whoops of approval. She snakes and writhes her way across the stage, undeniably intoxicating, sharing genuine moments of compassion and tenderness towards her motley assortment of clients. She pokes fun at the ‘bro’ culture power dynamic that pervades her world, juxtaposing her absolute and embodied agency over her body, her pleasure and her boundaries, alongside the recognition that her body and her work are created for the male gaze, on which it relies. Throughout it all she offers us the most tantalising peek through the forbidden window of strippers and sex work.

 

One of the most memorable parts of the whole performance is when she answers the question of, ‘what do strippers think about when they are giving a dance?’ in a way that manages to be both shockingly candid and deeply poetic. What is truly extraordinary though is that she can flip from Aussie good humour to sex kitten stripper magic with just a playful toss of her long hair. And as easily as she pulls us nervously into that neon glittering world, she also has us pulling at the threads of our own judgemental narratives around this work and the people who do it, all with the practised ease of a remarkable woman and performer.

Despite this show being marketed to the wonderful queer folk of our beautiful city as part of ‘Midsumma,’ I truly believe that this is a show for everyone (over the age of 18). It is beautifully acted, exceptionally well-written with real cheek, genuine warmth and admirable honesty. Frankie herself is intelligent, seductive, insightful, funny and incredibly perceptive. An artist revealing to us the soft underbelly of this curious, discomfiting, often taboo industry and the surprisingly resilient people who work within it, all while offering humorous, sharp-eyed social commentary. I also want to give a shout-out to her chameleonic and energetic supporting actor/stage hand, who, though uncredited, does not go unnoticed or unappreciated and whose ‘male gaze’ was both humorous and touching.

As much as I have waxed lyrical about this show because it truly was a pleasure to watch and participate in its playful intimacy, I do have one small criticism, and that was that it ended too abruptly. The finale came unexpectedly while everyone was still deliciously absorbed in the story and seemed strangely at odds with the energy of the rest of the show, which was far more deliberate. Perhaps I just wasn’t ready for it to end.

To book tickets to A Body At Work, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2025/abodyatwork

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

A Midsummer Nights Dream Come True

A Midsummer Nights Dream

A Midsummer Nights Dream Rating

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3

It’s a scorching 38-degree day, the sun is beating down fire-like rays, and I cannot stop sweating, and yet, when I am welcomed into Williamstown Botanic Gardens, everything feels a little bit cooler. Leaves en masse create dappled shade, and as I am guided on where to put my seat, my body temperature drops ever so slightly as my excitement rises.

I am here today to see Ozacts Midsummer Night’s Dream and, as an avid Shakespeare lover and student of the performing arts myself, this little clearing in these gardens suits me perfectly. A stretch of rope lines off the stage of gravel and grass, and shortly after, the play begins!

There truly is no better play well suited to a clearing in the gardens than a Midsummer Night’s Dream, and this company made full use of the different entrances and exits that were allowed in this setting. It truly felt as if the audience were a birds’ eye into the forest where all this beautifully comedic mayhem took place.

The beauty of this stage was that, apart from some pillows and blankets, the set design was stunningly simplistic and fully allowed the actors to tell the story without getting caught up in props and tidbits.
There was an attempt at sound and music, but as it was a rather open space, this got slightly lost. However, when heard, it created an ambience that further told the story in all its glory.

I want to give a (virtual) round of applause to every actor in this show. Each character had such a solid foundation, and I felt like I knew who they were. As an ensemble, each joke, each moment, and each word bounced superbly between both them and the audience. It was truly something magnificent to behold.

However, a special mention must go out to a few of this magic ensemble. LYSANDER, played by Ryan Stormland (who also played the Lion), had comedic timing as quick as a whip. As the Lion, the true feeling of just wanting to be involved was spot on, and as Lysander, each insult to Hermia(played by Kim Devitt) not only rolled off the tongue so splendidly but truly hit home not just to Hermia but also to us as an audience. HELENA, played by Maddie Roberts, (who also played ensemble parts) also displayed such a captivating array of feelings, from confused to offended to deeply madly in love, I fell for it all as hard as she fell for Demetrius!

All of this was further emphasised by gorgeous costumes. I loved the concept of Nick Bottom(played by Andy Delves) having donkey ears attached to his top hat and this reveal openly made me cackle. Titania’s costume was also an absolute sight to behold and created such a stunning silhouette which Carli Jones used to full advantage.

It’s so difficult to get an audience to understand Shakespeare, especially if they know nothing beforehand, but as a part of that audience, this ensemble transported us to a frolicking forest of fairies and fickle love that made us laugh, gasp and openly cringe and I would have it no other way. So if you wish to while away a balmy afternoon, I would highly suggest checking out Ozact and their Shakespeare in the Gardens. You will not be disappointed!

To book tickets to A Midsummer Nights Dream, please visit https://www.ozact.com/home/dates-locations/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Skating In The Clouds

Skating In the Clouds

Skating In The Clouds Rating

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3

Clare Mendes’ current play “Skating In the Clouds”, directed by Emily Farrell, brings her passion for saving the environment to the fore but also shows her passion for people and relationships. Two years in the making, with assistance from a Malcolm Robertson grant, Mendes explores the responses we make, as individuals, as generations and as a society to that big topic, climate change.

I say “we” because, through the actors on stage, we see ourselves represented. Summer and Autumn, in solid performances by Katrina Mathers and Rebecca Morton, are like two sides of a coin. Together, they are facing a world that is changing, but they have opposing coping mechanisms. Autumn, a scientist, wants to fix it but despairs at her inability to get to the root cause. Summer would rather hide in her daydreams, imagining a perfect future unaffected by such changes, yet the truth hits her in small moments every day. How will they navigate the future together? Can they reconcile their differences?

The play makes more sense when viewed as a morality play, with the symbolically-named Summer and Autumn together being our Every(wo)man (or Every person). Described as a “magic-realist romp”, there is a disconnect from a specific time and place. The beautifully simple set by Bianca Pardo is timeless, and despite Melbourne’s locations being mentioned, we imagine it to be in the clouds. Whilst we are told that our ladies are turning 70 in 2040, we don’t feel like we are fully in 2024 either. Props are oversized. It’s all very dreamy.

 

Performers El Kiley and Shamita Sivabalan ably support the action with youthful energy in scenes that punctuate the main storyline. Their physical embodiment of various characters reveal different societal responses to the climate crisis: politicians, journalists and rich corporate workers as examples.

For me, the highlight of the play was the confrontation scene between Mathers’ Summer, and Sivabalan, playing Summer’s daughter, Toby. After the discussion of ideas that dominate Summer and Autumn’s conflict in the previous scenes, we finally see raw emotions we can relate to. Summer has to face her fears for her daughter and mourns the simplicity of life when she was young; she wonders how we got into this mess that includes the overproduction of disposables. Toby believes herself and her generation innocent and rages against the undeserved burden, directing it at her mother. But the argument is pointless. The problem remains and mother and daughter must find hope for the future by finding small ways they can contribute to change. The passion in this scene has stayed with me, both its rage and its hope, and is a testament to the writing and the performances of the actors.

The lighting design by Natalia Velasco Moreno and the sound design by Sharyn Brand supported the action effectively but, along with all the creative team including set/costume, actors and movement (Lucy Payne) I would have liked to have seen more of their stamp on the whole production. The amount of talent in the creative team is immense, and the “magic-realism” element could have been leaned into even more, allowing the story and its deeper emotional meanings to unfold in the spaces between the words.

“Skating in the Clouds” is on at Theatreworks, Acland St, St Kilda, until Saturday, December 14th.

To book tickets, please visit https://www.theatreworks.org.au/2024/skating-in-the-clouds

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.