Rouge | The Edith | SOLD OUT | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Sensual, sexual, sumptuous, subversive, sublime, saucy, scrumptious, sizzling, stupendous… I really could go on! And still, none of these words quite capture the orgasmic orgy of the senses that is Rouge.
Fringe shows with French names usually mean a frivolous foray into glamourous nudity with naughty ladies and brazen boys. And although there’s definitely plenty to feast your eyes on, it remains as clever as you come!
From the first overt advances of the emcee to his audience, it is clear this show has no intention of shying away from sex. And yet, even as it defies all labels in its expression of pure sexual freedom, it also reveals a captivating intimacy that goes far beyond that one word.
Labelling themselves as “a circus for grown-ups”, these performers are well versed in the art of the tease with an astounding variety of tricks that leave you begging for more as they swing from one delicious act to another. Excitement mounts with every rising note of the beguiling lady in red, whose transformative operatic voice pulses through your body; Vibrations continue as we witness the side-splitting shenanigans of boys at play.
It’s a love affair I never want to see end with dance battles, dackings, and (if your heart wasn’t already racing) some whip action for good measure. But the dangerous liaison doesn’t end there! With the stunning Edith Spiegeltent as a perfect backdrop for this divine debauchery, you catch your breath as perfectly sculpted human bodies fly through the air.
The carefully selected soundtrack, which includes everything from La Bohème to TLC’s No Scrubs, is a match made in heaven for the tantalising temptations laid bare. Everything about Rouge feels like a well-planned seduction you have no hope of escaping – and not at any point did I want to!
It’s small wonder this ménage of artistes are award winners. The relationships they explore within themselves, each other, and the material objects they employ, all add up to powerful storytelling expressed with humour, vulnerability, and sheer sassiness. I swooned over the intellectual foreplay of their ‘Sexy Lamp’ Scenario, while another moment moved me to silent tears by the hypnotising beauty of a lovely acrobat’s dance with her Cyr Wheel.
I am most definitely not one of those people who indulge in show merchandise but somehow found myself queuing up at the end of Rouge shouting “take my money,” as I found a memento to immortalise my intercourse with these experienced lovers.
Simply put, this show is as funny, as clever, and as sensational a fringe show as I have ever seen and leaves me gushing in more ways than one. Don’t let the steam settle – frequenting this sexy circus cabaret is sex therapy on a whole new level.
Rouge is now SOLD OUT. For tickets and more info of what’s on at Fringe World, head to fringeworld.com.au
Evelyne Tymms completed a BA (Hons) in English and French at UWA with a focus on gender representation and film analysis, and went on to train in screen performance at the prestigious Nicholson’s Academy of Screen Acting. Evelyne has been part of the Perth film industry for almost 10 years and is a copywriter and voice artist for Magic Studios whilst also running personal branding and image empowerment workshops.
Image: Brig Bee
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