Review: Fringe Wives Club – Glittery Clittery

Given the name of the show and the inordinate amount of spangle in their fabulous outfits, at first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that Glittery Clittery will be a just a fun romp. That's partly true: the Fringe Wives are talented singers, dancers and musicians; there's a party mood in the room; and plenty of their gags are decidedly below the belt. Plus there’s an endearing amount of corpsing and a little set malfunction that adds to the sense of camaraderie the three create.

But as it turns out, in among the glitter and hijinks, there’s far more meat to the Fringe Wives. Victoria Falconer, Tessa Waters and Rowena Hutson imbue their show with a strong feminist message and throw in a few interesting facts for good measure: who knew how extensive the clitoris is, for example? Not many of the people in this room.

Glittery Clittery has empowerment running through it like a stick of Blackpool rock. Taking on the patriarchy mostly through song they aim both barrels at part-time male feminists and share some of the #MeToo experiences they’ve each had to put up with because a random dude decided that he "liked" them. A song about the lack of pockets in women’s clothing starts as an ode to practical clothing but ends up in a history lesson on the role of fashion design in keeping women down. 

Offering a heady combo of the lowbrow and the highbrow, the show leaves you buzzing, ready to square up to sexism wherever it may be. Sure, they're spandangled, but these Aussie warriors are not women to mess with.