Reviewed by Wendy Mildren
February 2011
Using recorded music, revamped lyrics, singing, dancing and characterisations, four very talented girls presented Matt Byrne’s Fringe production of “WAGS”.
Eloise Scherer, Paula Cooney, Tegan Gully and Ali Crew played several roles each showing what happens on the electric blue carpet when their husbands and boyfriends are in the running for the Brownlow Medal. The girls played the wives, the husbands, the paparazzi, and the groupies.
The venue, Maxim’s Wine Bar, didn’t lend itself for a great deal of action, but the girls gave it their best efforts. The dialogue could possibly have been witty, however, the volume and the pitch of some of it made it inaudible, and some of the language was not for the faint hearted. The show ran over two hours but a lot of the action was very repetitious and the references to ‘Bend over Pergola’ became tiresome.
The dialogue was enhanced with the girls singing such songs as I feel like a Woman with the lyrics changed to fit the situation. Two or three of their songs started in a very low register which did not suit the girls’ voices. The stand out number was based on Moving on Up which they really belted out. All the girls played their various parts with great flair and enthusiasm.
