Lesbian Love Stories | The Local Lesbians
Touching, witty, charming, and with a fair dose of cheek and sass, Lesbian Love Stories is an out, loud and proud celebration of lesbian experiences.
The show is a verbatim musical theatre piece presenting sapphic stories from the three performers themselves (Natasha Veselinovic, Chloe Taylor and Jahla Black) and other women-loving women from around the world. Heartfelt true tales are intertwined with catchy pop songs (with several cunning linguistic alterations to the lyrics, of course, to make them suit the queer theme of the show.) Tear-jerking sappy love songs were followed by upbeat bops, pop hits and even a poem written by the great Sappho herself. One of my favourites was a salty little ditty dedicated to homophobes, that became a joyful singalong with the audience.
Killer harmonies and captivating duo and trio numbers are delivered with a whole lot of vocal power by the three singers, each stand-out performers in their own right, though a few times I felt like Chloe was holding back, and that there was more to be seen – that her powerful voice wasn’t quite done proper justice by the chosen songs. Big props to the newest member of the cast Jahla who learned the whole show in a very short time. She held her own on the stage and didn’t let a few fumbles tarnish her performance. Accompanying the three powerhouse singers is the rock-solid piano playing by Musical Director Meg Burstow. The show wouldn’t be what it is without her support and musical prowess.
There really aren’t that many live shows around made by lesbians about lesbians for lesbians. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to make sense of your own story through hearing those of others, and to realise the commonalities of lesbian experiences in confrontation with homophobia, compulsory heterosexuality, the many layers of denial and the internal struggle between passion and fear. I was really impressed with the range of topics the 60 minute show managed to cover. It was well planned and well-written, unfolding in an entertaining and engaging way.
For me, what really made the show stand apart was the performers’ willingness to break away from the script and involve the audience, expertly bouncing off the crowd’s high energy and really welcoming us into their show and their love stories, right from the beginning. Their support for each other on stage was a beautiful thing to watch too, and the banter was on point!
I’ll be keeping an eye and an ear out for whatever this gay girl gang get up to next!
Images: Jade Ellis Photography
