A cabaret show called BOOBS (all caps) could go one of two ways, but Selina Jenkins’ show this Perth Cabaret Festival season opts for the surprise third route of powerful, emotional storytelling mixed with original music.
For those who think cabaret is only glittering showgirls and a thinly-veiled excuse to strip, throw those expectations out the door, and then throw all your other expectations out too, because BOOBS is intimate in the sense of a cozy chat at home with your bestie over a cup of tea. With musical numbers of course. Selina politely, gently, musically calls into question our most basic assumptions about gender, body autonomy, and the busty knockers that some of us carry on our chests.
BOOBS by Selina Jenkins. Vanessa Cooper Photographie.
Her show uses original songs and dialogue as well as good old monologuing to tell the story of Selina’s elective double mastectomy (that’s choosing to have your breasts surgically removed) performed in Florida at the height of the hurricane season.
After a cold-open describing her first waking moments after the surgery she broke the tension with a song about all the different words we have for our norks, jugs, and fun-bags, as well as various fruits they can be compared to for size reference (cantaloupes are a favourite).
BOOBS by Selina Jenkins. Vanessa Cooper Photographie.
The set-up for BOOBS is simple: Selina stands alone on stage with a microphone, a chair, and a guitar, and uses audio recordings to recreate her conversations with the psychiatrist whose job was to assess whether she was mentally fit to consent to the surgery. This dialogue is funny, awkward, and infuriating, sometimes all at once, and Selina does a stellar job of sharing her vulnerabilities without ever stooping to self-pity or pandering for sympathy. Her manner is warm and receptive, her singing voice is melt-in-your-mouth smooth (I would have loved to hear more), and when talking about the policing of women’s bodies she juggles outrage and laughter with masterful precision.
I have not laughed so much and simultaneously been so moved by a show in a long time. Whether you own cha-chas, have mixed feelings about your cans, or just want to hear about aroogas, you should get to His Majesty’s Theatre and see Selina Jenkins’ BOOBS.