Words by Your Local Hok
Trigger warning: mental health and loneliness
Straight out of the north-eastern suburbs of Tea Tree Gully, Amelie Peters lives to tell the stories of the reality of her three and a half years of working in retail.
From the irritating and persistent customers, to those who have butchered the pronunciation of her idiosyncratic name, and grown people defecating in the store, Peters has lived through all the trauma of retail life.
Retail reality features a range of parodied songs, including You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman, I Will Always Love you, and the dreaded variety of retail Christmas songs from the likes of Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey.
For the unfamiliar, Peters gives you a run-down of some of the types of Australian retail stores, including your high-class stores like David Jones and Myer, to your ultimate basic bitch destinations such as Lorna Jane, Lululemon, and Kookai.
Peters possesses a versatile cabaret style which will make you giggle and watch in awe as she performs a wide range of powerful notes throughout the show, accompanied by her keyboard and ukulele. Her snazzy attitude and boganistic mannerisms are a delight to watch.
Everyone loves a good rap medley using department store jingles, especially when Peters breaks out the quintessential Frank Walker from National Tiles impression.
Peters draws a lot from her upper middle-class experience of working at Pandora at Burnside Village, where she has encountered a wide variety of customers, such as the typical soccer mum, sketchy bogan, and even falling for a customer named Steve.
Every retail worker knows of the horror of working in retail on a public holiday and during the festive season. Peters’ skit of naming and shaming all these days whilst dramatic sounds play in the background brilliantly emphasise the utter distain and dread of long shifts, sh*t customers, and insanely sore feet.
Karens beware, for Peters has a grand old time roasting the heck out of you. Do not ask to speak to the manager, or Peters will make you pay once and for all.
It is not all a rant about bad customers however. Peters brings to light of the importance of treating everyone like a decent human being, as you never know what sort of day that a retail worker or customer has had.
Peters also touches on the topic and mental health and the feeling of loneliness when working in retail as well. It is an aspect of the show which makes you view retail workers from another perspective.
Retail Reality is full of attitude, sass, and no f*cks given. This show is dedicated to all the retail workers out there, whether you’re a current or former one.
Rating: ★★★★1/2