Adelaide Fringe Review - Amelia Ryan & Libby O'Donovan: UNSUNG
Words by Your Local Hok
Hailing from the suburbs of Brompton, South Australia and Broken Hill, Victoria, Amelia Ryan and Libby O’Donovan come together as a duo to present UNSUNG, a cabaret show about life in Australia in the 1960’s.
UNSUNG follows the story of the progression and fight for equal rights and representation for women during the sixties, as well as telling the story of various Australian rock and pop divas who shone and radically broke the glass ceiling throughout this decade.
Artists from the sixties such as Merle Thornton, Noleen Batley, Patsy Ann Noble, Dinah Lee, and Margaret Roadknight are paid a tribute throughout UNSUNG.
Ryan and O’Donovan are two amazingly-powerful vocalists who are snazzy in their sequin outfits, and share the stage harmoniously in a range of solo and duo performances of each of the songs during the show. Hitting all the right notes at all times, UNSUNG is a fully polished show with little to critique about the quality of the performance.
It’s empowering to reflect on how far women’s rights have progressed in the past sixty to seventy years throughout the show, but it’s fascinating to see that some things haven’t changed much, especially when you’re shown advertisements from the sixties about weight-loss pills and keeping your ‘Mimsy’ clean (you’d best google what this is).
Admittedly, there’s some awkward moments which present themselves throughout the show, especially when Ryan and O’Donovan list what restraints and societal expectations were placed on women and homosexuals in the sixties (e.g. be pretty for their husband, stay home and cook and clean, being thrown in jail for being radical). It’s unclear whether the audience should laugh or not, as these topics are not really a laughing matter per say.
As the show draws nearer to the end, it will leave you inspired and empowered by the radical progression of women’s rights in Australia to date, and will also remind you that there is still more progress to be made in our present and future generations of society.
The show is definitely aimed at audiences who were born during the 1960's to 1980’s, and as a mid-twenties year old attendee of the show, we sort of did feel a bit out of place in amongst the crowd, however the show was quite enjoyable.
If you’re looking for an entertaining history lesson about female Australian rock and pop artists and the advances in women's rights which progressed with strong acts of rebel and resistance in the sixties, then UNSUNG is the show for you.
Rating: ★★★★
Show details: Amelia Ryan & Libby O'Donovan: UNSUNG