Maude Davey: My Life In The Nude

28 January 2016 | 4:45 pm | Nicolette Ward

"Davey does an amazingly diverse range of acts in the show with her voice and physicality flexible enough to carry them all off with aplomb."

This show is a sensational sampler of transgressional cabaret that spans Maude Davey's 30-year career in the burlesque business.

Starting out in the 1980s Melbourne queer cabaret scene and progressing into Australian film, television and stage as an actor, director and writer, Davey is a seasoned performer and storyteller. Her autobiographical show — directed by her performer sister Anni Davey — is a knockout of entertainment, with insightful musings on what it means to be performing your naked self, especially as you pass 50 years of age. Davey does an amazingly diverse range of acts in the show with her voice and physicality flexible enough to carry them all off with aplomb, including a husky Chris Isaak tune that trumps any drag queen rendition, a rockin' Angels anthem done in showgirl feathers, a hilarious romp in a gorilla suit with nipple tassels and the most banging impression of '70s androgynous rocker Patti Smith you will ever see.