Fringe Review: Baby Bi Bi

Produced and performed by Melbourne-based theatre company Flesh Coloured Panties, Baby Bi Bi Bi explores the questions bisexual people are asked, and ask themselves, on a daily basis through song, dance, and comedic skits.

A portable closet looms in the background, adorned with breasts and genitalia in equal measure, a tongue-in-cheek piece of symbolism for the myth that bisexuals are half gay/half straight and a nod to the erasure and invisibility many bisexual people experience.

Performers, Annabel Larcombe, Samantha Andrew and Erin Pattison dance about the stage with flawless coordination and harmony. The choreography is kitsch and excessive, but charming. The show features seven original bisexual anthems, including a Destiny’s Child-esque Do I Want to Be You (Or Do I Want to F*** You) and chaotic ukulele jingle 44 Ways to Get Someone’s Attention Other Than Saying You’re Bi.

The comedy and cheer of the performance is balanced with a segment of candid and evocative storytelling, where Larcombe, Andrew and Pattison share their memories of coming out and their lived experiences as bisexual women – the confusion and isolation as well as the joy. Baby Bi Bi Bi encapsulates the complexity of human sexuality in a bold, emotive and shamelessly crass cabaret performance.

Delightfully dorky, unashamedly queer, and clever, Baby Bi Bi Bi is a heartwarming and hilarious distillation of the joy, pain and complexity of the bisexual experience. This reviewer went to Baby Bi Bi Bi seeking validation and a sense of belonging to an often-scattered community, and that I found. However, one question remains unsolved: do I want to be them,or do I want to f*** them?.

Baby Bi Bi was performed at the Crown & Sceptre Hotel on Sunday, February 24.

Baby Bi Bi
February 22 – March 2
Crown & Sceptre Hotel
adelaidefringe.com.au