Polecats
Director: Cathy Adamek
Bakehouse Theatre
Sat 17 March Until Wed 28 March


Creator Cathy Adamek explains in the programme that "The female stripper / exhibitionist is simply a contemporary object of female fertility worship and oddly the site of much fear and taboo in our society." I was surprised that the audience was predominantly women, of all ages - something I'd expect at 'Menopause: The Musical'.

All my alarm bells rang when the first performer was a ballet dancer aged about seven, dressed as a princess in a tiara and feather boa who playfully swung around the poles, then curtsied and ran off giggling.

The proud, unsmiling dancers entered, costumed by Mariot Kerr in a stylish and sophisticated manner inspired by 'Moulin Rouge' - not just corsets and gloves, but show girl feathers, a fan, a satin bolero, even a top hat. Their graceful, elongated posing demonstrated that all but one came from a ballet background.

Cristie Love was the exception, a Queen of the Jungle clad in leopard print who runs Adelaide's Lady Love Exotic Dance Academy. Each of her upside-down tricks and seemingly impossible feats, such as dropping two metres into the splits, was followed with a cheeky grin at the audience drawing a round of applause.

Certainly this is a skill requiring upper body strength, and there were iconic burlesque moments such as Adrienne Semmens blowing bubbles from a giant champagne glass. When the dancers finally undressed, they modestly covered themselves with glitter, making what could have been an exploitative moment a surprisingly elegant one.

Rosie Clarke