An inclusive voiceover message welcomes the large audience into the tent. The opening dance act has such a rush of electricity between the performers – it’s not obvious where one finishes and the other begins. This sets the scene for the evening – a space where love is love, and sexy is sexy.
A highlight of the show is the three-way hand-to-hand acrobatic work. Smooth transitions, outrageous heights and flirty glances throughout, the routine is fun to watch. Traditional gender power roles are challenged in a raunchy whip routine which puts the boys in a submissive role.
Nudity takes centre stage for a strobe-powered hoop routine which plays on the ‘sexy lamp’ trope – replace a female movie character with a sexy lamp and if the plot isn’t affected, the character is severely one-dimensional.
ROUGE uses sexy circus tricks to start big conversations regarding sex, gender and roles in society.