Review: Beauty Queen is smart AND hot
What is “good” feminism? Is it body positivity? Body neutrality? Is it loving yourself sick? Or is it being okay with how you look, but if you had the means you wouldn’t mind changing the way you look because life is easier when you’re prettier, skinnier and younger?
Playwright and performer Emily Carr’s Beauty Queen is a metatheatrical play that takes the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus, a man who fell in love with his own reflection and propels it forward in time, with Narcissus and her sister Contessa vying for the crown of Miss World Australia. It touches on the ways we use technology to better ourselves; whether that be using AI to write a cover letter, essay or piece of theatre, or getting a little nip and tuck to make ourselves look younger. It comments on the impossibility of meeting Western beauty standards and makes you question why it is acceptable to fake it on paper, but not when it comes to how we look.
Executing a one-person show is no mean feat – but having seen Emily Carr perform last Melbourne Fringe in her show Beige Bitch, I knew that we were in good hands. Once again, Carr has created a show jam-packed full of laughs whilst making a critical commentary on the pressures put on women living in a patriarchal society. Under the witty direction of Jackson McGovern, Carr commands the stage with grace, hilarity and the unparalleled confidence of a woman with a fresh boob job. She is incredibly versatile, playing over 10 characters, including a myriad of voiceovers with range and specificity, that remind me of the women of Real Housewives. Her face moves with such expression that I know there is not a millilitre of filler in those cheeks.
The intertwining of two storylines and multiple roles in Beauty Queen is managed with excellent design elements in Beauty Queen. I love a mirror, and this show has three — cleverly manipulating the space and providing many opportunities for great comedic moments like Narcissus's standout first kiss with herself. Emily moves as one with her mirrored set, designed by Jackson McGovern, and the high energy, busy nature of the piece is balanced by the simplicity of the sound and lighting design by Samuel Boyd and Jackson McGovern.
Emily’s writing is sharp and intelligent, but the end of Beauty Queen falls into the trap of overexplaining itself to the audience. The piece’s impact could be much stronger if it were left more open to the audience’s interpretation. Despite that, it still generated much conversation over a post-show beer. Beauty Queen is quintessential fringe; fun, feisty and thought-provoking.
Beauty Queen plays at the Trades Hall, Archive Room until 15 October. Find tickets here.
Images by Sarah Clarke
Maddy spends most of her time crying, fucking or talking to herself; sometimes all at the same time. She is obsessed with reading non-fiction at the moment, mostly to try and regain the brain cells she lost doing nangs during lockdown. Find her @maddy_jolly.
This review was generously donated by Maddy.
Like this review? Buy us a $5 coffee here. You can do it once, once a month or as many times as you like.
