Review by Amanda Lancaster
At the top of her game, living the glitzy and glamorous lifestyle of a highly sought after performer, meet in-demand showgirl, Lola Cherry Cola. Cherry red, fizzy, sparkles galore, and over-the-top exaggerated everything this is one lady who knows exactly how an entrance should be made. Cue the lights, cue the music and prepare for the unforgettable jaw-dropping act that follows as Lola uses her superbly sassy mouth to explore one of the ultimate taboos.
Experience up close and personal the true discomfort and humiliating realities behind the dreaded pap smear and the often omitted fear and fatality that is cervical cancer. Lola’s is a story that may land uncomfortably close to home for some women, or indeed even their partners, family or friends but her tongue-in-cheek approach and delivery of the performance, woven together with such open willingness to share with us her own personal tale take any of the unintended sting out of the subject.
Laying herself bare to the audience in more ways than one, Lola’s narrative journey illuminates more than can be perceived by the eyes alone, it beautifully and genuinely strips back the shrouding silence surrounding the topic of cervical cancer and how important it is. Be it to ease the trepidation many may feel at engaging with a conversation – or indeed monologue – involving the word ‘cervix’, or as a coping device or anchor to hold onto against the uncertainties that lurk within one’s own flesh, Lola’s story is permeated by humour, and interspersed with various interludes of dance and multi medias, however not in a manner that downplays the gravity of the situation or her message.
Definitely a one-of-a-kind show that has, for want of a more apt term, a speculum thematically thrust into it. Now just relax this will only feel uncomfortable for a minute and then its over.
When: 31st January – 5th February 2017 | 9:20pm
Where: Noodle Palace | Fringe Central | PERTH
Tickets: $16 – $26
Info: Duration 60 minutes | Recommended 18+ | WA Artist