HMNZS Toroa Hall
Thursday, October 11
The ingredients of Swing Time! are pretty basic; three white women dress up as 1940s stewardesses and croon their way unblinklingly through the popular music of the last century's most troublesome time.
This is nostalgia filtered through absolutely nothing, set to stilted choreography, offering a window into the cruise ship entertainments beyond most of the audience in attendance.
It is only fair to judge something like this by the goals it sets itself, but by including itself as Arts Festival fare, the Beatgirls are asking us to take them seriously as artists.
Their output offers much in terms of rose-tinted memories, though their efforts to incite the audience to sing along fell flat, but it offers little in terms of artistic interrogation.
Art should at least be able to ask a question, even if it us unable to answer it.
However, the only question The Beatgirls seem to be asking is: "How many festivals can we convince that we are doing more than what the local operatic society is offering at their next theatre restaurant?"
Experienced as they are, they have grown so safe in their jukebox antics that at times they barely seem to be entertaining themselves.
The Beatgirls try and throw sassy banter at the audience, but are barely even waiting for a response.
The audience, revelling as many are in their musical memories, the contemporary facsimile of their youth being presented through the lens of a detached and disaffected trio, on their way to the Christmas function season.
- Aaron Hawkins.
