Notorious Strumpet and Dangerous Girl
Jess Love begins Notorious Strumpet and Dangerous Girl by making sure that all of her audience are comfortable and offers everyone tea, coffee and biscuits. We soon realise this is because we have stumbled on an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting…. if an AA meeting had hula hoops, trapeze work and a bizarre game of bingo.
Jess shares her story. A talented circus performer, who has worked all over the world, she has also struggled with addiction. Along the way she discovers that her convict ancestor Julia Mullins also struggled with alcoholism - and the surgeon described her as a “Notorious strumpet and dangerous girl”. We hear about how the Irish country girl, turned prostitute and thief overcame her dependence on the bottle, and how her great-great-great-great granddaughter, a Queenslander with a talent for circus, is working towards sobriety.
Wonderfully frank, with an outstanding audience rapport, Jess Love educates without preaching, is funny, amazingly talented and delivers an exciting feel-good show.
Somewhat isolated down at Elizabeth Quay, which as a Fringe Hub is not well populated, this show deserves to have full houses. Opening night’s diverse audience had a blast.
Do yourself a favour and catch this wonderful hybrid of circus, stand-up and wonderful theatre.
Kimberley Shaw
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