Flat & The Curves
Toulouse Lautrec
Reviewed – 8th July 2022
★★★★★
“Even IKEA is not safe from these satirical sirens”
Flat and the Curves are an enterprising quartet of entertainers who will remind you of the iconic Fascinating Aïda. Flat and the Curves have powerful voices, with lots of range, and can belt out a tune in anything from opera to ABBA. They bring both an old-fashioned glamour, plus a more modern Gen Z vibe to the cabaret stage. But there the comparison ends. Where Fascinating Aïda was the kind of girl group you could take your granny to, Flat and the Curves? Maybe not. Then again, grannies these days know how to get their groove on, so perhaps you should gather up your favourite grans and take them to see Flat and the Curves for a raunchily good, girls night out. “Family” fun this group is not. Flat and the Curves are an anarchic group of singer/comediennes calling out the habits of cis/het men and dumping them, metaphorically speaking, in the trash. And it’s about time.
This talented group is Arabella Rodrigo, Charlotte Brooke, Katy Baker and Issy Wroe Wright. If the names seem familiar, that’s because these performers already have impressive musical comedy resumés. And it’s a genius move to put them together as Flat and the Curves. The songs in this pre-Edinburgh Festival show range from memories of meeting a female soulmate in the loo (as you do), to not so soulful memories of “being taken up the Shard” on one’s anniversary. Don’t make me go there. There is a song with a 90s vibe about menstruation — a “period” piece according to Arabella— and again, don’t make me go there. There are lots of songs about sex, not surprisingly, including a clever riff using Glenn Miller’s Chattanooga Choo Choo to sing about hen dos. There are songs about dating apps. “You’re the App of My Eye.” “Get Me Some Romance” is a heartfelt torch song begging men to be gentlemen. It almost tops the brilliantly operatic rendition of an earlier song about porn, entitled, and I kid you not, “When A Woman Comes First”. Most of the songs in this show are about living in a world with men and their less endearing habits. Flat and the Curves call them out soundly. Think these ladies won’t go there? Think again. Even IKEA is not safe from these satirical sirens.
In short, Flat and the Curves are all about presenting a hugely entertaining evening. But they’re also educational. No really. I learned a lot. And I’m sure the men in the audience did, too. Even in a super warm cabaret space with noisy fans that did nothing to lower the temperature, the audience still jumped to its feet and applauded loudly at the end of the show. I confidently predict that Edinburgh will welcome Flat and the Curves just as enthusiastically.
Reviewed by Dominica Plummer
Photography by Karla Gowlett
Flat & The Curves
The show is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 16th to 28th August
Did you see these shows we reviewed in June?:
Cancelling Socrates | ★★★★ | Jermyn Street Theatre | June 2022
Evelyn | ★★★ | Southwark Playhouse | June 2022
Favour | ★★★★ | Bush Theatre | June 2022
Hen | ★★★ | Hope Theatre | June 2022
Machine de Cirque | ★★★★★ | Peacock Theatre | June 2022
Mad House | ★★★★★ | Ambassadors Theatre | June 2022
Serse | ★★★★ | Opera Holland Park | June 2022
Starcrossed | ★★★★ | Wilton’s Music Hall | June 2022
The Fellowship | ★★★ | Hampstead Theatre | June 2022
Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch | ★★★★ | Underbelly Festival | June 2022
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