As a fan of smutty fantasy, I have to admit, I was pretty excited to see Dirty Talk. Self-described as “a queer, new age, fantastical rom-com”, it had me wiping away tears of laughter within the first few minutes.
The show kicks off with a very familiar scene – a transperth train, brought to life by the iconic fabric seats. We’re introduced to a seemingly normal young woman listening to a romantasy (romance-fantasy) audio book, when suddenly the main protagonist, Fabiola, comes to life.
Throughout the show, we see Fabiola meet many suitors, exploring every romance trope you can think of. It seems love comes easily to our flirty adventurer, whether she’s meeting a skateboarder or a mob boss.
Performers Talia Zipper, Emily Jenkins and Anna Knight were hilarious, never letting their characters slip, even when acting out ridiculous sex scenes. One of my favourite moments was the reveal of one character’s “dragon”, which was essentially a plush dragon head on a hobby horse body. Anna Knight in particular was a standout for me, embodying countless characters and always making funny choices even when the spotlight wasn’t on her.
I also have to give a massive shout out to the writers, Emily Jenkins and Tiahna Johnson – the jokes were silly, saucy and very well timed. As a fan of the genre, I was impressed by the references to modern romance novels.
In addition to poking fun at romance tropes, the show explores themes of sexuality, female pleasure, finding yourself and the pressures that come with dating. In moments of quiet, the performers brought a vulnerability to the stage that felt very authentic despite the magic filled plot.
The show runs for 60 minutes without any lulls in energy. Considering the small cast and very simple staging, it’s a testament to the magic of the show – you really do get sucked into their world.
So who will be Fabiola’s true love? I won’t spoil the surprise…!
Dirty Talk is showing at The Blue Room Theatre from the 17th of June to the 27th of June. It’s brought to you by LACUNA’s all female creative team.