Review: FANTASIE at The Royale Theatre

FANTASIE at The Royale Theatre
Saturday, January 21, 2023

9/10

On Saturday, FANTASIE returned to the stage in all its full-throttle, full-frontal glory, after its successful Fringe World 2022 season. Back bigger, better, and bawdier than ever, this season’s spectacular show wowed with new routines, new characters and costumes, and a new cast of intoxicating performers.

Not a performance for the faint-hearted, or vanilla inclined, the show offered a 90-minute non-stop foray through the worlds of kink, nudity, cuckold, orgy, fetish and domination, led by show producer and adult performer, Frankie Fatale. Guiding audiences through elaborate scenes of rapture and eroticism in the form of dance, tease, video, ariel performance and stripping, Fatale’s staging of her self-described “escapist, erotic, and even pornographic fantasies” was a sensual delight. Though little less could have been expected from Australia’s Best Female Stripper (2019), whose sister- show Frankie Fatale’s Menagerie has been equally enthralling this season.

Joined by a talented cast of dancers, all with their own showgirl, burlesque, dance and drag careers and personas, FANTASIE offered visual smorgasbords of sexy choreography, as the dancers complimented Fatale with their own effortless execution of entrancing choreography, and intimate interactions with each other.

Dancers Gigi Love and Ronnie Rum Punch (burlesque scene queens), Jessica Huntley, Penny Luck and Beth Scott brought smouldering looks and fierce moves to the stage. All deserve commendation for the excellent performances they gave.

Drag and performance superstars Bebe Babow and Maven were also delightful new additions to the FANTASIE team and made excellent and entertaining cowboys in Frankie’s wild west routine. Though the audience participation in this number did seem a little awkward, with Maven and Babow struggling to match Frankie’s abilities to involve and connect with her chosen participant, their stage personas and energy carried them through the show.

A particularly special mention must go to Jade Ivy (WA Showgirl of the Year, 2022) whose reappearance during the second act was a welcome surprise after her fantastic contribution to last season’s run. Ivy’s lyra (aerial) and dance duet with Fatale was beautifully executed and performed with palpable connection and emotion between both performers, a testament to their individual skills, and on-stage dynamic.

Though the show’s rollercoaster of themes and story-telling scenarios were best enjoyed for their unpredictability and variety, for those who require a little more encouragement, audience members can expect X-rated homages to Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and beloved mythology and fairytales.

Aside from the excellent performances, commendation is also necessary for the elaborate costuming, props, stage pieces, music and video projections that accompany and elevate the performance to the level of a show one might expect to see on a large Las Vegas stage. The excellent design elements of the show, alongside the clear attention to storytelling and world-building which underlay all the acts, contributed to an all-round enthralling and memorable performance.

All in all, FANTASIE is one hell of a sexy Fringe World show, and not one to be missed.

BEC WELDON

Photos by K Darius photography