Lesbian Love Stories offers a fun night out and an unapologetic spotlight on the experiences of lesbian women.
As the name suggests, the production takes you through a series of vignettes detailing real life love stories. These stories are told alongside performances from a varied, crowd-pleasing songbook. The trio of performers – Natasha Veselinovic, Chloe Rose Taylor and Ruby Clark – are all vocal powerhouses. It’s as if they’ve finished their Broadway shows for the night and have headed to the nearby jazz bar for a spontaneous concert while intermittently sharing personal tales with friends.
In this sense, the production offers a night of live music rather than cabaret, as priority is given to the music, while the vignettes are short and often unrelated to the song choices. This creates lulls in the energy at times. However, the trio are confident at commanding the stage and are able to move out of these moments – Clark’s roof-raising fiddle skills being a prime example.
The trio’s harmonies are electric, creating a robust sound that is expertly accompanied by musical director Luke Volker.
Veselinovic and Taylor, as co-writers of the production, quickly establish a warm space where audience and performers alike wander through and celebrate shared experiences. For many, this alone will make Lesbian Love Stories a special production that sits right at home in festivals like Midsumma and Pride Amplified, the latter being where the show is due to appear next.
Read: Musical review: Spring Awakening, Meat Market Melbourne
For lesbians, other LGBTQI+ folk and allies who love good tunes delivered with pizazz, laughs and poignancy – you can’t go wrong with this one.
Lesbian Love Stories
Natasha Veselinovic, Chloe Rose Taylor, Ruby Clark
Musical Director: Luke Volker
Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran, Victoria
Tickets: $45
Lesbian Love Stories was performed from 27-29 January in Melbourne as part of Midsumma Festival. It will tour to Sydney from 3-5 February.
