If you are after an amazing show that will leave you wanting more, The Basement’s production of Morphosis: Shed Your Skin is a must this Fringe season. Featuring Boorloo’s finest alternative, queer, burlesque, drag, and cabaret artists.
From the very start of the show, the MC, Dandy Mcgee, hyped the crowd with her catch phrase, “Vulnerable Vignettes Make My Pants Wet!” completely setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Just imagine an audience of 100+ all chanting that verse out loud. The screeches emitting from the audience were uproarious, yet totally valid.
We were then introduced to the group of kooks that made up this cast of psychedelic sweet treats via epic song and dance to David Bowies famous song “Kooks.”
There were ten powerful vignettes that made up this astounding show, each Kookling depicting flavours of kink, politics, and vulnerability. The vignettes portrayed each Kooks transformation by pulling back the allusion, and revealing their metamorphosis through their art.
Two of my absolute favourite stand out performances of the night were by Tangerine Scream, and Maven.
Tangerine Scream’s first performance was captivating from start to finish. She was confident, sexy, excellently contoured, and equipped in a stunning tangerine glittery ensemble that matched her voluminous tangerine hair. She also executed fierce burlesque moves with impeccable precision that could kill. Through her loud, colourful, and fun performances, she disrobed the layers of her soul on stage that had you completely transfixed cheering her every move on.
Maven’s performance on the other hand, was raw, emotional, and passionate all in one. During her first performance to Conan Gray’s song, “Family Line” she made the audience feel her intense inner emotions that were seeking a way out. The emotional toll of the song was evident as the drag queen fiercely clutched herself on stage while disrobing and being painted with dark grey paint portraying those raw emotions escaping. The performance had me tearing up, as I felt her pain, and understood the struggle of coming from a dysfunctional family and overcoming that inner pain.
I give this show 5 stars, the metamorphic artistic performances were spectacular, the crowd was amazing and full of energy, and the Connections Nightclub venue was a bedazzled disco ball heaven. For anyone who hasn’t witnessed a show like this, it is truly an emotional yet uplifting event that is loads of fun to watch, it is just a shame that this show was only on for two nights.
Keep enjoying Fringe and stay fabulous my queens!
5 STARS
Morphosis Shed Your Skin
Who: 18+
Where: Main Room at Connections Nightclub
Season ended for 2023