Baby Got Back: Size Queens promises a lot, before you even step into the wooden Ukiyo tent. Sex, profanity, feminism, strip-tease, socio-political discourse and comedy, all in the one show. Phenomenally, Baby Got Back hits every one of these beats, and more.

Upon arrival, audience members are handed Badonkadollars, to the value of $244.80 – the current gender pay gap. With these notes, the crowd makes it rain over the artists, as the performers grind and groove their way across the stage in fluoro cat costumes. Thus, the tone of the show is set – a touch of sex, a lot of smarts, all caressed with sass.

Each Size Queen is given their time to shine, whether this is through a regal warrior dancing her way through a choreographed dream, or making fruit juice, with a lot more dry-humping than is usually involved in the process. In-between, the performance grapples with the struggles of the contemporary woman – from unsolicited dick-pics to rampant cat-calling. Although, on the surface, presented as entertainment, these segments strike a chord with the majority of the audience, and uneasy chuckles from the crowd demonstrate how prevalent these issues are, and how deeply they’re felt.

Size Queens is complemented with brilliant MC work from Memphis Mae, who starts to build a thoughtful narrative that touches on vulnerability, but oozes power and confidence. The audience files out, thoroughly jazzed with the colourful performances, pumping music, amazing costuming and charming performers. I also like to hope that the rest of the crowd, like me, left feeling empowered. Shows like Baby Got Back: Size Queens, are out to change the world, and bit-by-bit, stage-by-stage, they are.

Where: Ukiyo @ Gluttony

When: 12^th March – 17^th March

Link: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/baby-got-back-size-queens-af2019

By Alex Craddock