Black, Fat and Fa**y review | Midsumma Festival | Chapel Off Chapel

Milo Hartill is black, fat and faggy. Although these not the exact words she would use. But that’s the privilege of existing across three oppressed minority groups. In the cabaret Black, Fat and Fa**y, Hartill takes us through various elements of these communities and what her experiences have been. With a voice like hers though, there are entertaining musical numbers to go with her observations, anecdotes and jokes.

Hartill is dressed in silver boots, white skirt, and a white cropped t-shirt with "Alpha Male" printed along the front in sparkling letters. She wears a denim jacket with "Big Ol' Dyke" on the back. And that’s the constant contest and juxtapositions and blurred lines that she lives on. She performs with a confidence that is loud, proud and unapologetic, commanding the room before she has sung a note.
Lucy O’Brien, accompanying on piano, functions as both collaborator and foil. They share easy banter and quick corrections of one another effortlessly bringing in some charming and engaging moments, even as Hartill uses O’Brien to prod at white privilege and the casual freedoms it affords and what it restricts. It's a nice dynamic that creates playful circumstances on the surface while still pointed in their intent.

There’s a number of issues and themes Hartill hones in on, including people wanting to touch her hair, her father abandoning her and her family when she was one, and how the fat girl will always be blamed for farting. It’s all tongue in cheek and Hartill has the right personality to pull it off. Yet there are stretches where you find yourself wishing the material pushed beyond cunnilingus gags and poo jokes toward something with a little more bite.

At 70 minutes duration, the show falls into the trap of keeping the same energy for too long. Many of the songs blend in together except the final two, which highlight Hartill's ability as a singer and a performer, as she sings Mousse T.'s "Horny" in the style of Julie Andrews (with a welcome change to the lighting too) and then a beautiful cover of Whitney Houston’s "I Have Nothing".  

What ultimately lingers is Hartill’s undeniable presence. Even when the structure drifts or the emotional depth remains just out of reach, her charisma, humour and vocal power keep the audience firmly in her orbit. Black, Fat and Fa**y may not arrive at a singular revelation about identity, but it offers something looser and perhaps more honest, a performer staking her claim to space, contradiction and joy, entirely on her own terms.

Click here to read our interview with Milo Hartill. 

Black, Fat and Fa**y was performed at Chapel Off Chapel between 4 - 5 January 2026. 

Image credit: Matto Lucas