I almost didn’t see Hemlines. A delayed flight had other ideas – but, as it turns out, the Fates were on my side. Fitting, really, for a show about Florence, Eleanor and Doris: three eternally toiling seamstresses who may or may not be the modern reincarnation of the Greek Fates, now stitching the threads of life with a bit more banter and Irish dancing than I remember from classics class.
Smart, strange, and unexpectedly moving... exactly the kind of gem you hope to stumble across at the Fringe
Moon Bureau’s latest offering comes to Prague fresh from a spin around Australia’s fringe circuit, and it arrives with all the energy of a long-haul flight’s second wind. There’s singing! There’s jigging! There’s a maypole! (Yes, really.) What the press release describes as “a celebration of sisterhood” turns out to be a musical – surprise! – though the songs sneak up on you. It’s not until Florence breaks into the first number that you realise you’re watching a bona fide musical. A little more signposting wouldn’t hurt, but once the toe-tapping starts, you’re in safe hands.
Clocking in at 45 minutes, the show never drags. The dialogue is sharp, the physicality impressive, and the songs... well, they’re good. Not “download immediately” good, but clever, catchy and tightly performed. More importantly, they serve the story rather than stopping it dead – which is rarer than it should be.
The ensemble – Madison Chippendale, Lana Filies and Alicia Badger – are a joy to watch. Their chemistry fizzes, their timing is bang on, and they somehow make maypole choreography seem like a perfectly reasonable theatrical choice. They’ve crossed a continent to be here, and on this evidence, Prague Fringe should be very glad they did.
Hemlines might not change your life, but it does remind you why you came to the fringe in the first place: to see something smart, strange and unexpectedly moving, all within spitting distance of a medieval pub. The Fates have clearly been stitching together something special.
