Beauty Queen review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Trades Hall

Narcissus takes centre stage in Emily Carr's new work as a young woman hell-bent on winning the Miss World Australia beauty pageant. With Carr's strong character comedy and a story that takes its audience to a few unexpected places, it's laughs aplenty and then some with Beauty Queen.

Carr is in full control of all the characters she portrays, clearly defining the various mannerisms and personality traits of each one. Voice and body language are distinctive and she doesn't take a misstep with presenting each one. Her interactions between "herself" and the AI program helping her write a feminist play that doesn't scream feminism are comical and it's amusing watching the tension and power battle between the two of them intensify.

Miss Peony review

We have all heard of the expression "be careful what you wish for", but in Miss Peony, the more appropriate expression would be "be careful what you promise on your Poh Poh's deathbed". When Lily agrees to enter - and win - a beauty pageant competition just as her grandmother passes away, she is forced to see it through or risk being haunted by her Poh Poh for the rest of her life. Written by Michelle Law, Miss Peony takes its audience into the world of beauty pageants with plenty of humour and heart.

The relationship between Lily and her Poh Poh (in the living and the spiritual world) constantly moves from affectionate to exasperating as Stephanie Jack and Gabrielle Chan touchingly display the underlying tension, grief and regrets they feel. Chan is full of personality as Adeline, Lily's Poh Poh. Her matter-of-fact attitude and dishing of barbs is a joy to watch and while her fan dance is brief, it is one of Miss Peony’s most powerful moments due to the emotion that Chan carries in it.