Dirty Talk is the latest show to take up residence at The Blue Room in Northbridge, and it is a laugh-out-loud experience that challenges us to think about romance, connection and confidence.
We meet Jemima, sitting on a train with her headphones in, listening to an audiobook. Her selection is the genre of romantasy, the hugely popular mix of romance and fantasy. As she listens, the story features her favourite character, Fabiola, who, in this outing, is a vampire.
While Fabiola fights the temptation to devour a young woman who saved her from a deadly arrow, Jemima reveals she has consumed a cavalcade of Fabiola’s adventures, each one set in different settings and circumstances. Things get weird, however, when Fabiola materialises before her, challenging her choices as real life and fantasy collide.
Sharing stories of daring and adventure, along with their own exploits in dating, these two characters begin to unpack what is missing in their lives and explore the possibility that they may each have something to offer the other.
If Fabiola were a man, we would call her a lothario. There are similar words for women, but the connotations are different – vamp, vixen, femme fatale. These are the wrong labels for this character, who oozes confidence, always wins, and makes other women weak at the knees.
The beauty of this production is its subtle but insightful challenging of gender roles, gently introduced through captivating and comical performances from Talia Zipper, Emily Jenkins and Anna Knight.
It asks us what we need to do to successfully find the dream of love and romance that most of seek. Does it happen when we lower our expectations of what is possible, or do we need to raise our belief in ourselves to make those expectations come to life?
Like the best theatrical experiences this show allows you laugh in the moment, and ponder the deeper questions long after the actor’s have taken their bows.
Brilliantly written by Emily Jenkins and Tiahna Johnson, and directed by Marie-Eva Cigna, this is a fun, sharp and engaging production.
Dirty Talk from Lacuna is on at The Blue Room until 27 June. Tickets are on sale now.
