Fringe review: Hemlines
Arts collective Moon Bureau presents an enchanting, original piece of musical theatre that cleverly examines the unseen and overlooked labour of women. ★★★★½
Is there a more appropriate metaphor for women’s plight throughout history than invisible dressmakers in purgatory? This is what Hemlines hinges its narrative on.
We meet Flossy (Lana Filies), Doris (Madison Chippendale) and Eleanor (Alicia Badger), dressmakers who appear to be stuck in an in-between. Each day, since they can remember, they do the same thing: make clothing for women to wear in the real world. Every piece they create has real world consequences, can alter history, and a mistake can lead to drastic, life-changing consequences.
Hemlines makes references to major figures or events in history, with the idea that these dressmakers made the clothes for each moment: the Plague, Joan of Arc, the Great Depression, and Jackie Kennedy.
The collective hit gold with this motif, which is broad enough to encompass the historical, but persistently invisible, labour of women, yet specific enough to add depth to the narrative. The characters’ existence in the in-between heightens the idea that, for a long time and in some circumstances today, women have been excluded from public life, told to serve and observe the world from a distance, sometimes only through a frustratingly small lens, like an eye of a needle.
You might like
The writing is intelligent, humorous and full of heart, and does well to bring clarity to such layered ideas in a 45-minute runtime. There is even a reference to Atlas, a Titan in Greek Mythology who was punished by being forced to hold up the heavens or sky for eternity. In a similar way, the characters in Hemlines carry an eternal burden, holding up women in history against the powers of patriarchy, sexism and misogyny. They, too, like Atlas, can be seen as a symbol of strength and endurance.
Under the insightful direction of Amelia Gilday, Hemlines creates an uncanny world, accentuated by the painted white faces that resemble pantomime performers and hark back to some traditions where a white face is a symbol of youth and fertility — another nod to the in-between existence of the characters. The performances from all three actors are compelling, as they are able to find a balance between the weight of the message, and the humour and wit in the writing.
Hemlines is both joyful and thought-provoking, and is a tribute to and celebration of sisterhood, autonomy, and small acts of resistance that help to create a better world. It makes the case that clothing, often dismissed as trivial particularly in the context of femininity, can be “rebellion, status and art”.
Hemlines ran at The Green Room at the Hotel Richmond until March 15
Read more 2025 Adelaide Fringe coverage here on InReview