Confessions of a Control Freak

The lovely Belinda Raisin has brought her cabaret show, Confessions of a Control Freak, up from Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne’s Butterfly Club to a sell-out season in Brisbane.

Frances (Belinda’s alter-ego) is a young married woman, and from the outside her life looks perfect. Sure, she has everything perfectly timetabled and she has lists. Lots of lists. She even has a list of the lists she keeps. But Frances isn’t even close to satisfied. Motivated by her inner control freak or maybe just modern-day pressures, she wants her life to be more balanced, healthier, more productive – Frances just wants more, and she wants it now.

Devised by Raisin with creative consultation from Alison St Ledger, the show was a great mix of insightful anecdotes, ballet, sage advice (alcohol and yoga don’t mix and if vodka is taking up precious fridge space, drink it!). The accompanying soundtrack of well-known yet hilariously re-contextualised music (e.g. the accidental death of a hamster is sung about to Jennifer Paige’s ’Crush’) was played beautifully by pianist Jamie Teh. As the show progressed it maintained its humour, but the material became heavier. By the final number, the show was about staying true to yourself and ensuring that the decisions you make are going to enable you to live the best life you can.

If you’ve ever gone to yoga hung over, had trouble keeping pets alive, spent the whole day working out what your facebook status should be, or had the urge to clean the house in roller blades, then this show has something for you.

Confessions of a Control Freak played to a sold-out Judith Wright Centre from 15-17 August.