7sins&7virtues | Connections Nightclub/Rigby’s Bar | til Feb 5 | ★ ★ ★ 

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Scarlet Bell are a Murdoch University based student burlesque troupe and my very first Fringe Show for 2018.

MC- Foxxxxy Curves had somewhat of an uphill battle to get the audience revved up. Maybe it was the early timeslot, maybe Fringe Fever hadn’t kicked in yet or maybe it was the shadow of January 26th that hung in the air a little? (bonus points for starting with an Acknowledgement of Country) Whatever it was I am sure it would have made it harder on the performers, who did well to push through and still deliver sauciness and style.

Foxxxy’s comic timing was on point, starting us off in the most anti-burlesque costume (a blue leopard print onesie), bringing us “Sloth”. Foxxy was no slouch, having to work hard to get the most out of an audience who when asked, most of which indicated they had not been to Burlesque before. Walking the line between both sinner and saint, Foxxxy and their trusty stagehand made sure the acts kept coming.

Rolling through the 7 Sins and 7 Virtues we start to build a picture that each represented is not all as it seems and that each of us are all a little sinner, even when we think we are saintly. Scarlet Bell tried to break away from traditional interpretations of sins that we have seen before and on the whole the performances were energetic, playful and fun but unfortunately some interpretations may have missed the mark a little.

The music was diverse, bringing us Tay Tay, Kanye (nice juxtaposition there) and even some good ol’ country and the costumes were fab. I mean who doesn’t love a well-placed feather or sequin?

Where the show fell down a little for me was in its presentation of gender roles and relationships. I didn’t expect the show to be wholly queer focused, but when you seeing an act perform at Connies you at least expect to see a wee bit of diversity other than stereotypical depictions of “femaleness” and relationships. It was disappointing to see that of the use of the two male presenting performers was limited to one act of putting clothes on, another which hinted at a same-sex dalliance but ended up with the two female presenting performers being led away on chains and the last one where they sat fully clothed to get lap dances. There seemed like missed opportunities here where the script could have been flipped and something a little more interesting could have been done. Maybe I’m just not their target audience?

Although perhaps not versed in the politic and etiquette of Burlesque the rest of the audience seemed to have a fab time and the performers seemed to have the best time of all, any nerves being hidden successfully behind faces of joy and celebration.

Along with seeing the passion of the performers, the sense of body positivity that the show created was wonderful. Scarlet Bell brought us beauty, sex and sass in all shapes and sizes and packages.

In essence 7sins&7virtues is what Fringe is all about. Even when you see a show that isn’t quite your cup of tea you are just glad that the platform exists to give space to shows that might not have one otherwise. Hopefully their next show takes on more diversity and complexity of relationships and showcases the performers in a light that speaks a little louder to their LGBTIQ+ audiences.

7sins&7virtues will be at Connections Nightclub and Rigby’s Bar until Monday February 5th. Tickets and more information available at fringeworld.com.au

Bella Broadway