In the opening week of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, with a celebratory glass of bubbles, Le Freak is the perfect show to wet your appetite for the coming weeks of one of Melbourne's biggest celebrations of independent theatre.
Hot off the tails of Sydney’s Fringe Festival, a cast of trans, queer, disabled and sex worker performers take to the stage to thrill audiences in a series of dare-you-to-look-away stunts. The show highlights each performer's artistic skill set, be it sword swallowing, glass stomping or hula-hooping (at a much more advanced level than seen in the school playground).
Creators of Le Freak, Elle Diablo and Themme Fatale have built an atmosphere where each ‘act’ is given room to breathe and be fully appreciated by the audience.
The standout of the evening must be mentioned: Themme Fatale. Their stage presence in several jaw-dropping stunts, including but not limited to glass, nails and children’s story books, Fatele locks you in from the moment they step on stage.
It’s a shame that other aspects of the show are less polished than one might hope. In areas, Both performance and technical elements leave the audience with a somewhat disjointed story. Will we ever really know the journey of Bubbles the Ferret?
Despite this, the audience responds enthusiastically to engagement and minimal (and highly consensual) audience participation, leaving them cheering, hooping and hollering.
Glad we got a sitter for the parents with this one…like any erotic theatre, it’s not for the faint of heart.
This unapologetically queer show is a warm welcome to Melbournes 2023 Fringe Festival.
Le Freak is playing as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2023 at The Festival Hub: Trades Hall until October 22. Tickets and further information can be found here.