Review: Victoria Falconer – Oxymoron

In a world where identity is more important than ever, Victoria Falconer struggles to fit in. The half Filipina, bisexual Australian grew up in an isolated small town not knowing anyone like her. Her Filapina mum made her eat weird food and she looked different from her school pals. So she wants to write a musical that everyone can relate to, and the audience is here to help.

Musical theatre superstar Lea Salonga and Cassandra from Wayne’s World were the only women she found that looked like her, but there’s a gaping chasm of experience between a Disney princess and a grungy rocker. Falconer has a load of ideas for her musical, and says she is writing it in front of her audience.

That's not what happens, though. The multi-instrumentalist is a versatile performer, but the show itself doesn’t seem to quite know what it is. The cabaret documents her childhood in Oz and her art school days in London but the opening intention of supposedly crowd sourcing a musical doesn’t have much follow through.

She packs a sharp wit and is quick with the audience badinage, but her initial aim gets lost in double entendre and musical gags. There are some creative and very funny moments – her first encounter with another woman’s vagina is demonstrated on a theremin, and she practices her blowjob techniques on a kazoo. But other than sharing her vulnerability with us, there’s little of the process of writing a musical that supposedly drives this show.