Performance review: A Body at Work, Theatre Works, midsumma festival

Frankie van Kan has been working in the sex industry for 17 years and counting. She has been asked many times over the years about her day job or what she is studying. For many people, stripping doesn’t fit into their concept of a full-time job. A Body at Work explores the prejudices that come with being a sex worker and how van Kan has overcome this to find acceptance and normality in her chosen profession. Returning to midsumma after a sold-out run last year, A Body at Work is well deserving of being brought back to the festival. 

Van Kan tells the story of how she became a stripper and, after over a decade in the industry, moved on to having sex for money. She does so in an engaging way that makes the audience feel as if they are just hearing someone talk about their job – except she is nude a lot of the time while speaking. Even this becomes normal for the audience – the naked body no longer a cause for shock. Instead, they can embrace Van Kan’s confidence in her body as something to be admired. She is also very funny at times, and this further relaxes us and makes us comfortable with the story she is telling. 

The life story is told through various vignettes recollecting the people she has met in the industry, the interactions with clients and van Kan’s struggles with her own whorephobia. The red line for her was moving from stripping to sex acts. To further complicate things, being queer adds another layer to her closeted self.

Not every scene works and there could have been some trimming to improve the show. However, most of the material is entertaining and thought-provoking. There are also memorable moments that will stay long in the audience’s memory. Yet the ending feels sudden – and while it works in the context of the overall story, a clearer build-up would have been beneficial. 

The lighting successfully conveys the feeling of a strip club and helps frame van Kan’s sexual imagery, but there are some minor issues with the seating that makes it hard for the upper rows to see action in the foreground of the stage.

Van Kan is joined on stage by a male performer (uncredited) who is silent and conveys the male gaze as well as being a source of playful humour. The moves that van Kan performs from her stripping days are aesthetically impressive and a reminder of the performative nature of her work. 

Read: Exhibition review: Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania, Artspace Sydney

A Body at Work is an important show that normalises and humanises the sex work industry and reminds us that those within in it are pursuing their chosen profession just like anyone else. It’s also a lot of fun and Van Kan’s performance will live long in the memory.

A Body at Work
Theatre Works
Written and Performed By: Frankie van Kan
Director: Maude Davey

Tickets: $25-$35

A Body at Work will be performed until 1 February 2025 at Theatre Works in St Kilda, as part of midsumma festival.