Kitten N Lou: Holier Than Thou | Circus Theatre | Until Feb 19 | ★ ★ ★ ★
It brings a tear to my eye to say that we’ve reached the final week of Fringe Festival 2017. So far I’ve seen an eclectic mix of shows; magicians, cabarets, comedians, and dance troops, but it wasn’t until tonight that I saw the weird and wonderful I’d been craving for in Kitten N’ Lou: Holier Than Thou. The duo, a self described ‘power couple’ dazzled the audience with their theatric interpretation of how the Bible really went down.
Within minutes of the performance starting I had conjured apt doppelgangers for each of the pair. Lou, with her pencil line moustache, high eyebrows, and evocative facial expressions, looks like Charlie Chaplin after falling through a drag queen’s wardrobe. Kitten, with her wavy red hair, curvaceous figure, and dominant persona onstage, reminded me of The Scissor Sisters’ female vocalist – Anna Matronic.
The show was certainly original, and the duet took the audience through a succession of biblical reenactments with their unique choreography and suggestive costumes that portrayed a rather more audacious version of Moses and the ‘Burning Bush’ to the one I was thought at school!
To complement their stage antics, the double act screened some witty, tongue in cheek video clips that held subtle New York cultural references, where the two ladies reside from. Being honest, I found myself longing for the couple to return onstage while the videos was playing, however the short films gave the performers time to change into extravagant costumes backstage, and boy was it worth the wait.
The costumes were a pleasure to the eyes and kept the show visually stimulating. One minute, the pair would emerge as super glamorous flies, and after a quick dash backstage, Kitten would reemerged ‘7 feet tall and in 7 inch heels’, swinging a sword with such vigor I took comfort that I was sitting three rows back. Coupled with a great soundtrack featuring the likes of the late David Bowie and the late George Michael, I at times felt like I was on the filming set for a 1980’s music video.
This is exactly the sort of show that you will only see at Fringe Fest, so if there’s any religious devotees amongst you readers who just can’t wait till Sunday for mass, do head on down to Kitten N’ Lou for a weekday serving of your favourite Old and New Testament parables, told through the carnal, jocose stage frolics of these imaginative New Yorkers.
Catch Kitten N Lou: Holier Than Thou at the Circus Theatre until Sunday February 19th. Tickets and more information available from fringeworld.com.au
Conor Duggan
