INSERT THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU LOVE

Pilgrim Theatre, Sydney Festival 2008
Directed by Rodney Fisher
Musical Direction Lance Horne

“If there is one thing cabaret vixen Meow Meow will never tire of, it is love. Fresh, raw, old, lost, obsessive or dangerous, love fires her every waking moment. "Love is harsh, it is a battlefield," she says melodramatically.

Meow's brand of performance art has been likened to "a punk-cabaret artist and shambolic showgirl", "an iron fist in a velvet glove" and a "grade-schooler trapped in a woman's body". A recent collaborator, the original Hedwig of the musical Hedwig And The Angry Inch, filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell, described her as "a beautiful old Art Deco building that's just been condemned", a description that delights Meow.

Her extraordinary voice can move from a wailing blend of gravelly opera to velvety seduction and furious squeals, as if an angry and orgasmic dolphin is within. Songs by Jacques Brel, Bertolt Brecht, Dolly Parton, Kurt Weill along with Chinese courtesan tunes are up-ended with a wild, sensual and melodic vigour.

At High Line, Meow sang Bowie's Rock'n'Roll Suicide while screaming at crowd members to get out of her way, "I'm a professional", descending a staircase and crowd surfing to the stage where a chorus of children dressed as mini-Meows finished the song.”

Sydney Morning Herald

Photo: Karl Giant