I think the world would be better if two things were true: if all men were women and if all sharks dreamed of Paris. Though our world may not be so amazing and cool and awesome, thanks to the magic of the Fringe festival, we can experience a better time, if briefly, by watching SHARK! by HOT GIRLS (it’s the company name I swear).
SHARK! is a show so good we had to review it twice. Quick-witted, ridiculous, and bikini-laden, SHARK! is a rerun of the 2024 Blue Room hit, rearing its head to capture a new swarm of audience in its comedically sharp jaw. The show follows the behind-the-scenes of fake cult classic movie SHARK! (2005), and all the drama and shenanigans that happen behind the camera. The cast consists of Lucy Wong as the desperate, sleazy Director, with a desperate and sleazy soulpatch to match, Delaney Burke as the Girl chained to a life of sex-appeal and cut lines, and Clea Purkis playing the eponymous Shark, a broadway star wrapped in equal parts bitterness and pompousness. By the way, you must imagine a literal shark on the stage, walking around like Jack Black in Shark Tale; those aren’t sunglasses, those are her beady eyes.
This show is fantastic on all fronts. There’s a camera and a green screen that runs throughout, marking the space in front and behind the camera; it’s such a clever conceit that I wonder if that was what the show was built around. There’s a couple fancy lighting things, but generally the show is carried by the performances of Wong, Burke, and Purkis. They play the characters with a balance of camp and groundedness that works so well, the chemistry and physicality between the performers is hilarious and bodacious, and props especially to Lucy Wong for bringing the clown out on stage. If you told me a packer and a fake soul patch talked to Lucy the same way the Green Goblin mask speaks to Willem Dafoe I’d believe you in a heartbeat. The Bondi aesthetic brings me both pain and joy as I assume was intended; the puka shell necklace, SBS after 10pm, board shorts, Billabong, bleached tips of it all almost feels like a tribute to the city’s fallen City Beach, may it rest in the gnarliest of waves.
You’ll leave this show surprised. If you were expecting humour, you’ll be surprised at how bikini-forward and …bare it is. If you’re expecting the bikini burlesque, you’ll be surprised by how well-written, well-executed, and well-placed the jokes are. If you’re expecting equal parts nearly-naked women and shotgun barrels of laughs, you’ll be surprised by how dramatic it can be. Beneath the silly boob and butt jokes, SHARK! delves into the uglier side of feminism; how can you not be a “man-hating feminist” if all the men around you are worthy of hate? Do you choose to repress your feminism to fit the male gaze, or do you become a monster? Is that something you choose, or is that something the men around you choose?
Any nitpick I can muster is null and void in the experience of this show. Ultimately, it’s a fun and silly time about how women are cool and beautiful and funny, which is what a Fringe show should ultimately be about in my humble lesbian opinion. There’s a lot of effort that goes into something like this, I’m glad it got another chance to swim, and I hope it lurks the Fringe waters again and again for years to come.
SHARK! is on at Fringe World from Jan 30-Feb 1.