She Doesn’t Even Go here | Royale Theatre | Until 28th January | ★ ★ ½
Burlesque can be a highly entertaining. Done well it can be captivating, thought provoking, it can even be political commentary. It can challenge gender stereotypes, showcase creativity in costuming, and expose the audience to obscure but fascinating musical choices.
This show is based around the much-adored film Mean Girls. If you’re a fan of the film you’d have already picked up on that because “She Doesn’t Even Go Here” is one of the lines from the very quotable film. It could have equally been titled “On Wednesday’s We Wear Pink” or “You Can’t Sit With Us”.
The decision to do a show based on Mean Girls makes sense, a new musical version of the film is currently in cinemas, so it’s in the zeitgeist and that might help this show might stand out from the crowded offerings of Fringe World.
The structure is simple, a series of drag and burlesque performers each present a number where they are one of the films memorable characters. You can imagine there was a production meeting where who got to be Regina George, who gets to be Cady Heron and who will be Gretchen Wieners and who will be Karen Smith was tackled.
Aria Scarlett is the show’s host, reading from The Burn Book, and introducing all the different performers. Heidi Gunn opens the show as a sexed-up Phys-Ed teacher Coach Carr. Drag King Jaxon Coke is love-interest Aaron Samuels, Quadish is MILF Mes George, while Carter Cartier is Damian, and Moxie Heart has the perfect Lindsay Lohan wig to transform in Cady Heron.
Frankie Fatale, members of twerking team Twerk Noir, and the fabulously named Outside the Box: The Artistic Experience also contribute to the proceedings. There are many talented performers in the line-up – it’s just none of them are doing their best ever work.
If this show was on at 11pm in a basement backroom it would probably find a more appreciative audience. But it’s not, it’s on at 6:30pm in the massive Royale Theatre and the gigantic stage means the performances lose their impact. While each performer had their moment in the spotlight, there’s nothing in this show that will see you telling your friends, “OMG, you have to see this!”
See She Doesn’t Even Go Here until 28th January. For tickets and more information, head to fringeworld.com.au
Graeme Watson is an editor at OUTinPerth. He has a background in journalism, creative writing, dance, theatre, radio and film working as a performer, producer and writer. Graeme writes for a variety of publications and has been working as a reviewer since 1997.
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