[Cabaret/Comedy; Victoria, SA Premiere]

DOOMBOX: A Cabaret by Frankly
Dom Polski Dwa, Sun 10 Mar

Frankly declares at the outset that she is a ‘professional artiste’ with a considerable range of skills that she will demonstrate during her show. She warns us not to expect any narrative of any consequence. It’s all slapstick and dazzle she says – just meaningless art.

And then she sets about proving her point! Meaningless? Of course it’s not – but zany, quirky, whacko, eccentric, weird, provocative she is and it‘s wonderful to watch.

A series of original songs on piano in a musical comedy style a little like that of Tim Minchin (she may have absorbed a tip from Minchin about eye make-up as well) fires off lyrics at a rapid rate about things that have happened to her in shops, schools, her bedroom, and with horses. Songs and lyrics can suddenly leap off into strange other directions but it doesn’t hide the fact that she is a fine pianist and composer with a great sense of comic timing who knows how to build drama within a song.

Her singing’s not bad either. Loved her ridiculous long note in an early song which she held for way too long. Her lyrics confront and titillate and stop just short of being sleazy. Perhaps it was an alter ego that made a brief appearance to give us her thoughts on conspiracy theories but everything Frankly does is intentional and done with frenetic energy. Methinks she is in complete control of her madness.

She’s also really funny. One gets the feeling that Frankly is a rising star and it won’t be long before we see her in much larger venues with much bigger audiences. She deserves them. She’s nicely nuts. And hugely talented.