Boys Boys Boys is a cabaret/comedy and reflects Nico’s effort to move away from the confines of musical theatre, in which she trained. “The show isn’t a narrative” she explains. ”The stories in the show have a narrative but not the show itself.” She’s also keen to not fall into the trap of singing the expected. “I am a fan of the big show time number,” she admits. “But this is a cabaret show and it’s me telling stories in an intimate and entertaining way. I keep my Australian accent when I sing the songs.”
Nico’s not going to say what that question was. “I don’t want to give too much away!” Nico reckons she doesn’t hold back with what she reveals. “These things happen to everyone. I don’t need to make up a funny story, people can relate to the stories. The show isn’t melodramatic,” Nico continues. “It’s not one of these shows about a woman who’s had her heart broken. The stories I tell are delivered in a sharp and punchy and funny way.” Nico admits she’s not shy about naming and shaming but she has tempered some of the details to make them digestible to an audience. Would the men she’s talking about in her show recognise themselves? “Some have code names. There’s Chip Boy, who I met when I stole a chip off his plate in a kebab store. There was one fellow who kept asking the same question over and over again. He was weird and inappropriate; he kept asking me, even the next morning at my front gate when he was leaving. I stay truthful I’ve made him into an inexperienced person, changed his entire character so it’s like he’s a nervous person who asks a bunch of questions rather than asking the same question over and over.”
Nico has had to find a new pianist at the last minute but the girl is undaunted, so much so that she’s given up her day job. “I did a show in the last MICF (I’m Not Creative, I’ve Got Bipolar) and I noticed the difference in my headspace when I was working full-time and doing a show at night.”
BY COLETTE DALLIMORE
Venue: The Wilde, 153 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Dates: September 22 – 26
Times: 7pm (Sunday 5pm)
Tickets: $10 – $15
