In what hopes to be an annual event, The Skirt Network presented a fundraiser in their show at Trades Hall, Keep Your Skirt On. Hosted by Celia Pacquola and token gentleman Oliver Clark, the evening was a showcase of the female talent at this year’s Festival, some members of the female support network and others invited guests. The majority of the show featured snippets of each performers’ Festival show, being the perfect opportunity for the punters to create a mental list of shows to see before the festival winds up.
The show began on a musical note with a couple of numbers by Toxic – The Brittney Spears Tribute Band. While not strictly comedy (at least not to those unfamiliar with most of Ms. Spears’ musical output), it was a fun way of kicking off proceedings. Quite a number of the acts had a musical bent including the gals from World War Wonderful who belted out a couple of their propaganda tunes with slick choreography, Linda Beatty who told her updated fairytales with harp accompaniment, Geraldine Quinn’s edgy songs and a tune about being middle aged by Wendy Little and Em O’Loughlan.
Of particular interest were the performances by some new names on the comedy scene. Victorian Raw Comedy State Finalist Stella Young put in a brilliant and feisty set that touched upon life in a wheelchair amongst other interesting topics. Also impressive were spots by two pupils of the Jeez Louise course. Bonnie Tessa Davies and Marion each executed confident, well structured and hilarious spots that were a credit to the instruction of the Jeez Louise mentors.
The remainder of the acts were strong stand up spots by Claire Hooper, Deborah Frances-White, Lou Sanz, Felicity Ward and Alison Bice. As a special bonus, Nina Coni ended the show with some cheekiness with her Monkey.
Keep Your Skirt On was a extensive and entertaining show featuring many of funny females. Keep your eye on their Myspace Page or FaceBook Group for the next wonderful event put on by the crew at The Skirt Network.