Review – Lead Me Astray, Ali Oop

I had the pleasure of being a Fringefeed reviewer earlier this year. I liked writing reviews so much that I thought I would continue outside of the Fringe banner, and I reviewed this show for Belmont’s Imaginarium this month.

Review – Lead Me Astray

Ali Oop welcomed us to the tent with words that struck a chord: ‘You’ll see something you like, something you connect with, or something you despise. Either way, we clap!’

So began the wild emotional journey as the performers took us through their interpretations of the seven deadly sins. Drawn in by Dante’s gruesome details of purgatory, we watched as the drag artists explored sin, society, and who decides what is acceptable. Ali Oop was a funny and unflappable MC with an authoritative stage presence – and every performer, in their own way, held power and presence onstage.

This was a showcase of Perth’s best emerging drag performers. A grassroots performance in which most of the budget probably went to tomato soup for reasons to be disclosed later, the performance was grounded, honest and artsy, Fringe-world style. It wasn’t about glitz and glamour, though there was plenty of glitter; it was about emotion. Sorrow, rage, greed, lust, power – each performer brought something different but equally truthful to the stage. The performers did not shy away from intimacy, and we felt enticed and uncomfortable from moment to moment. Regardless, I felt loved in my queer, flawed body, and we were encouraged to accept every part of ourselves.

This show was no stranger to the funny or bizarre. You haven’t lived if you haven’t seen two drag queens stirring a bowl of soup the size of a fish pond while shaking their booties. And aside from serving up oddities, and soup, there were some truly difficult tricks, such as the Blake Cassette hoisting up Ali Oop and the chair they were sitting in, and then throwing the chair backstage, holding Ali with one arm, and making it look easy!

Overall, I’m envious of the talent of the cast and their bright futures in the performing arts world. See you in the inner circles.

If you’re interested, you can find my other reviews for Johnno McDonno Falls in Love, JoBot!, El Flamenco!, Heartwave and The Clubnosis Experience by googling the show name 2022 and ‘Emily Siggs’.

An Open Letter to Climate Skeptics

I was surprised and pleased to find that after discussions in early 2020, environmental organisation 350.org chose to publish one of my opinion pieces. However, due to gremlins in the machines or simple correspondence issues, I actually didn’t find out until I googled my own name. Anyway! Here’s the link to what I hope is a well-considered, and hopefully not unduly angry letter.

Open Letter to Climate Sceptics

I am deeply passionate about preserving our beautiful environments for future generations – and about not dying in a climate-crisis-fuelled flood, bushfire, storm or drought.

So now, an exclusive open letter to Woodside Energy (you heard it here first, folks): I have played your CEO in a historical activist pirate street-theatre show, and I’ll do it again, especially if you don’t rethink building the Burrup Hub, which will endanger the marine ecosystem including whale migration patterns and damage the sacred Murujuga rock art. Sincerely, Emily Oscar ‘Fancy’ Finn, First Mate of the local activist pirate street theatre company.

Flash mobs galore!

I’ve been very busy engaging in environmental activism and studying my Honours this year, so I haven’t posted much, but I’m delighted to share some creative works outside of the medium of writing I had the joy of creating.

The first ever flash mob I choreographed was to this beautiful song by the Oh Hellos, ‘On the Mountain Tall’. The energy in the video just makes me so happy.

The second was this hilariously fun Mad Max themed ‘Discobedience’ dance. Environmental group XRWA North of the River asked me to choreograph it for them, and not only did we have a great time, but so did the passerbys, who smiled or stopped to take pictures.

For the final flash mob for the year, I collected the stories of four young people impacted by the climate crisis and, with permission, played their stories over music – Venxeto’s ‘Shifting Winds’. We performed for Sacred People, Sacred Earth day at Kattagarup (King’s Park) and Elder Auntie Mingli welcomed us to country. 473 other actions were held across the world.

With all these creative endeavors, I had to take a bit of a break from my creative writing. But never fear! I have some stories in the works that I hope will blossom soon.

These dances took place on Wadjuk Noongar boodja. This is sacred land, and sovereignty was never ceded. I acknowledge the Elders from koora-koora past to yeyi.

The Zodiac Anthology!

Aussie Speculative Fiction has published two of my short stories; ‘The Bindi’ in the Cancer Anthology and ‘Caveat Emptor’ in the Leo Anthology. There’s a collection for every star sign, which I think is pretty cool.

‘The Bindi’ is a story about a water-nymph that saves unsuspecting townsfolk from drowning in the river, who never remember her. I wrote it for my mermaid-loving sister, who is also a Cancer, so the fact that I got it published in a Cancer Anthology is perfect!

I worked on ‘Caveat Emptor’ for seven years. I was fifteen when I wrote the first draft – an 80 000 word manuscript. I looked back on it a few years later and decided my writing skills had grown and I still loved those characters, so they were reimagined into a short story set in post-apocalyptic Perth Underground Station. I like to think that it happens in the same universe as Mad Max. You can read the first half on my website here: Prose – Emily Siggs – Writer (wordpress.com)

The Cancer Anthology: Cancer (The Zodiac Series #7) by Austin P. Sheehan (goodreads.com)

The Leo Anthology: Leo | Universal Book Links Help You Find Books at Your Favorite Store! (books2read.com)

And if any godforsaken soul actually finds and reads ‘Caveat Emptor’, please let me know if you laughed. Is Rhona not somehow hilarious? I didn’t work on it for seven years for nothing!

Australian Aishwaryas

Australian Aishwaryas is live!

During my internship with the Centre for Stories in 2019, I produced an interview series featuring six of the most experienced dance teachers in Western Australia. Their styles ranged from fire-spinning to African samba to ballroom, but their determination and dedication to their art was universal. I named the project after Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, as no matter their age, gender or style, I felt all my interviewees deserved the respect and fame of the beloved dance icon.

Nikki is a second-generation bellydancer. Her mother learnt from an Eygptian-Armenian immigrant who in turn learnt in secret from her housemaids, as bellydancing was looked down upon in Eygpt. Sukhi let me watch as she tied her ghungroo and practiced kathak as she has since she was a child in Malaysia. Fiona, a ballet dancer and trauma survivor, now loves flow arts and sees the fire she spins as a symbol of hope. Todd taught me to jive when I was seven years old and he’s still teaching! He told me about the time he had to deal with a snake slithering through the class when he was teaching in Leonora. Yamina once accidentally ended up performing at the Rio carnival; Jen Nie told me the myth behind Lion dancing.

It was an incredible privilege to help these people tell their stories of success, failure and determination. You can read the project here.