Image: Cabaret trio The Desperettes; photograph courtesy of the The Butterfly Club.
A good wingman is hard to find. If you’re single (and ready to put yourself out there, meet new people and yes, mingle) you have undoubtedly either wished you had a successful wingman, refused help from an eager wannabe wingman, or tried your own hand at being a wingman for a friend in need.
Wingmanning isn’t an easy endeavour.
Cabaret trio The Desperettes have skilfully put together a showcase of the foolproof steps required in order to be the perfect wingman, and they are as entertaining as they are educational. A Lady’s Guide to the Art of Being a Wingman combines comedic wit with modern tunes, dorky synchronised dancing and well-timed harmonies in an attempt to enlighten its audience on the best ways to pick up at a club, or hunt for ‘The D’ as the ladies delicately phrase it.
Pop culture often depicts the art of being a wingman as a male-oriented ‘sport’. Cheesy pickup lines, unsolicited advances and overly confident flirting is generally considered more socially acceptable when coming from a man, but The Desperettes are on a mission to turn this out-dated way of thinking around. Clad in manly suits and towering pink fluffy beehive-shaped hairdos, Daisy (Belinda Hanne Reid), DeeDee (Natasha York) and Delilah (Lisa Woodbrook) are an all-girl ‘wolf pack’ on the prowl for men willing to go home with them. They are guided step-by-step through the pickup process by an instructive voiceover; an audio self-help guide designed to turn them into A-grade wingmen by outlining the various methods of successfully picking up.
Amid the scripted banter between the wingmen-in-training, the ladies perform a range of well-known songs, changing lyrics to suit their man-chasing operation and emphasising existing verses to insinuate different meanings than the songs originally intended. From an amended interpretation of Ricky Martin’s ‘She Bangs’ to the energetic ‘Sexy and I Know It’ by LMFAO, the show plays on the explicit nature of commercial hits by male artists, transforming them into empowering anthems for women who are actively searching for single men to fulfil their sexual needs. The trio present a no-holds barred, uncensored blend of uplifting medleys and deliciously vulgar pickup lines, throwing in some audience participation for good measure (ladies: be sure to bring a male companion along for some guaranteed hilarity).
The Desperettes have brilliant onstage chemistry, and their different personalities gel together seamlessly. Hanne Reid’s portrayal of Daisy, the hesitant divorcee attempting to return to the world of dating, is both empathetic and entertaining as she works on overcoming her nervousness about flirting with men. DeeDee is the feisty friend of the troupe, and York’s energised performance is truly impressive. Her rap skills deserve an honourable mention, as well as her sleazy demeanour; she encompasses the female version of ‘creepy-man-at-bar’ perfectly. On the other end of the scale, Woodbrook’s virginal Delilah is wonderfully expressive, hilarious to watch and relatable as she tries to hide her sexual inexperience from her wolf-pack friends. All three ladies have strong singing voices and faultless timing, making for one very successful cabaret performance.
Highlights include a hysterical discussion about the female alternatives to ‘cockblocking’ and an empowering medley of songs about being single, which are impossible to not sing along to. A harmonious rendition of Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide and Seek’ changes the tone of the show for several minutes, creating a beautifully sombre atmosphere, and providing the audience with the opportunity to contemplate the darker side of modern pickup culture.
A Lady’s Guide to the Art of Being a Wingman is a polished, satirical piece of theatre that induces non-stop laughter and a feeling of inspired sass that remains long after the performance concludes. After watching this show, all single ladies will undoubtedly leave the venue with a strong inclination to go out with friends and shamelessly flirt (and wingman) their way through the night.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A Lady’s Guide to the Art of Being a Wingman
Created & Performed by Natasha York, Belinda Hanne Reid and Lisa Woodbrook
The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Pl
10 – 15 May
