Helen (Rhyannon Grace) is a slender blonde femme and an alluring dance teacher who runs the Golden Apple dance studio. Together with her band of wayward lesbian students, they manage to samba, waltz, tipple and tango all the way to an important dance competition, though not without many twists and turns of the heel along the way.
Initially, Helen decides that her students aren’t ready for the challenge of competing, and even contemplates closing her school. But with a whole lot of enthusiasm and a good old fashioned raffle the group persuades her to keep the school open and to let them keep dancing.
It’s good that they do, because from out of nowhere a breathless and mousy librarian named Lannie (Ruth Katerelos) appears with a bag of apples, some sewing skills, and the kind of common sense that this groups of feisty girls needs.
But with the butch Val (Niki Pidd) constantly fighting with her political student of a daughter Scarlett (Flame Acacia Kimbell); the two Belles with their matching piercings (Eleanor Bally & Eloise Maree) constantly cooing at each other; and the rather too passionate Gertrude (Kristen Adriaan) loving everything she comes into contact with, it’s no wonder that Lannie runs off screaming at a million miles an hour.
Will she come back? Will she fall in love? You’ll have to see Tango Femme to find out.
While I give the writer, director and cast full credit for bringing this piece of theatre to life, and while I acknowledge its humour, and the gender-based political commentary that its author is making, unfortunately this production didn’t work for me theatrically on many levels.
Firstly, it was too long, with too many entrances and exits. The characters were underdeveloped – particularly the mother/daughter relationship between Val and Scarlett. The costumes were under-utilised – the only time we saw any glitz or glam was right at the end of the show, when the whole time a rack of ball gowns was hanging there doing nothing. And finally there was not enough dancing given the theme and title of the show – certainly not enough to knock my socks off anyway.
Perhaps I was expecting something else – more spectacular dancing and less talking; more burlesque (as the show’s publicity claims it contains) and less drama; more glamour and less tights, headbands and shorts.
But my expectations aside, if you’re the kind of person that likes to dance, watch others dance, or just dreams of being a dancer, then perhaps you should give Tango Femme a whirl.
Wishing Well Productions present Tango Femme
La Mama Theatre, January 18 – February 6
Written by Merrilee Moss
Directed by Brenda Addie
Produced by Ruth Katerelos
Design by Jase Cavanagh
Performed by Kristen Adriaan, Eleanor Bally, Rhyannon Grace, Ruth Katerelos,
Flame Acacia Kimbell, Eloise Maree & Niki Pidd
Midsumma
Celebrating queer culture
January 16 – February 6
For more details including ticketing information please see the festival’s Arts Hub event listing.
