Mz Josephine’s Amazing Holiday sees acclaimed Cabaret Artiste Josephine Fisher in an introspective show. She has left her risque alter ego, Mistress Josephine, at home to deliver a collection of very personal tales about her life while belting out some brilliant songs.
Josephine described the show as essentially being about nothing but there was an overall theme of traveling that she often returned to. She explored her family trips to Adelaide and the Barossa Valley, both as a child with the family and as an adult visiting members the Fisher clan at Christmas. Journeys of the emotional and spiritual kinds were also touched upon as well as the process of moving somewhere to become somebody.
Apart from the many references to her drug addicted brother, her tales lacked the conflict and drama which are often considered vital ingredients to a fascinating story. The stories were somewhat interesting and well presented but their exploration of too many mundane details weighed them down. She seemed to be trying to provide a catalyst for the audience to examine their own lives but the punters probably came to the show expecting to live through her tales. This created a rather large hurdle for Jo to overcome. The more successful tales in the show were the showbiz related ones such as her audition for “Australia’s Got Talent” and her time at the Edinburgh Fringe with Steven Berkoff’s posse. These were the ones that satiated the punter’s thirst for gossip and glimpses behind the scenes.
Although the stories were the main focus of the show, Jo performed some character pieces. These were more in line with what she is known for, the sexy chanteuse belting out a show stopping number. She showed an amazing talent in inhabiting these characters and enforced our amazement at her powerful singing voice. The only disappointment came when her performance of the Latin Air Hostess came to an abrupt halt when she stepped out of character, expressing disinterest in her creation.
Just because Josephine’s stories were all about her didn’t mean that the audience were safe from participation. Jo invited the reluctant audience to share their own stories with minimal results, coerced two punters to act as Australian Idol style judges and got an audience (possibly a plant) to fill in some stage time as she changed costume.
The line in the blurb describing the show as “a dark absurdist comedy” wasn’t exactly fulfilled. The opening piece was promising, with touches of absurdity in its’ wonderfully vivid descriptions of a boarding school, but it was very dense and could only elicit nervous titters rather than laughter. A number of amusing lines were littered throughout the other pieces but for the most part the atmosphere was quite serious.
This is a very bold experiment for Josephine. Devotees of her previous work will find it fascinating but as an introduction to Mz Fisher it is probably a difficult journey. It is not a passive experience, requiring some self reflection to extract the most out of her stories, but those willing to work for it will be rewarded.