Meow Meow makes a splash at Perth International Arts Festival

I’ve spotted the name Meow Meow on several festival programs in the past but never really felt compelled to attend one of her shows. I thought, with that kitty-kat name and all, that this would be just another cabaret-teetering-on-burlesque artist and so neglected to investigate.

By golly, am I glad I caught her amazing performance at this year’s Perth International Arts Festival. Forget cabaret: for Meow Meow, torchsong singing on its own is way passe. And disregard burlesque – this girl delivers titillating antics in an altogether fresh, innovative and subtle manner.

Using Hans Christian Anderson’s traditional tale The Little Mermaid as its basis and, well, turning it completely on its head, Meow Meow packs in more aquatic puns than a can of tightly squeezed-in sardines.

The show starts off simply enough – a spotlight on a circle stage, on which the protagonist appears to the sounds of thunder, rain and pelting tears. She’s crying. But we’re not sure why. And then she turns coyly to her audience, almost winking, to say, “This is a show about happiness.”

What it really is, is a show about a girl (well, mermaid) and her contemplation of giving up her love of seaside singing to hunt down and settle down with the man of her dreams.

And you really sense Meow Meow is looking for that man. With her cunning tactic of giving every small section of the audience a good stare for several seconds at a time, you really feel she’s checking you out and summing up your credentials to see if you’re “the one”. And it doesn’t stop at the men for she gives women in the crowd a good once-over, too.

Intermittently, amid her search for true love, Meow Meow chats about the pitfalls of relationships, the lows that often outweigh the highs, the ‘pop’ in the “bubble” of love that inevitably arrives, sending all splendid connotations away, awash with distraction, doubt, drama, etc.

To express her take on the lows (and occasional high), Meow Meow draws from a catalogue of credible artistry, singing their songs her definitive way (kooky, sexy and clever all at once). On the hit list are brilliant tunes by Amanda Palmer (she of the Dresden Dolls that went on to have an even more colourful solo career), Kate Miller-Heidke, Megan Washington and Radiohead.

Even the physical delivery of the songs is utterly unique – with the artist one minute dangling off a swing while singing, the next in a harness and acrobat contraption, looking like she’s “swimming” through the air.

Then, halfway into the show, that man of her dreams appears – in the form of an everyday tradie, no less. An electrician rocks up to “some Cat show” to fix a technical problem and soon morphs into Meow Meow’s ultimate Prince Charming. He can sing, he can dance, he can woo and romance. And yet… it still seems unreal or at least not enough to sway our mermaid away from the sea.

Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid is proof that even the cutest fairytales are able to be utterly bastardised so as to get to more of the ‘Truth’ that lurks beneath it. The artist’s unique talent of subverting traditional agendas was first evident in her previous festival offering, Meow Meow’s Little Match Girl.

‘Mermaid’ is apparently the second production in a well-planned ‘Little’ trilogy. I for one cannot wait to catch the third.  Antonino Tati

The final performance of ‘Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid’ is on tonight at the Octagon Theatre, UWA.
Tickets, if still available (be quick!) are $55 for Premium seating, $45 for A-Reserve and $36 for B-Reservie (Concessions also available).
Visit www.perthfestival.com.au for more information and bookings.