In her new cabaret extravaganza Red Shoes, Meow Meow literarily flops onto the stage, and stays there for two songs delivered with the sureness of more fleet footed performers.
For the next month at Belvoir Street Theatre, audiences will be dazzled by the extraordinary talents of Meow and her onstage musical accompanists, as together they deconstruct the Hans Christian Andersen tale and the declining world surrounding the players.
Directed by Kate Champion and co-produced by Black Swan Theatre and Malthouse Theatre from a work originally commissioned by the State Theatre Company South Australia, this is a highly original and darkly humorous approach to a much loved children’s fairy tale that is strictly for grown ups.
Throughout the next 75 minutes we witness a highly inventive take on the well worn trope of cabaret that swings through a gamut of emotions as Meow must find her matching shoes, without realising until the last moment that they are possessed and seek her destruction.
Meow’s signature take on cabaret brings together her skills across physical theatre, connectivity with the audience and her powerhouse vocal ability guided her innate intelligence and comedic chops.
Supported by a crack team of three Melbourne-based musicians, Mark Jones, Dan Witton and Jethro Woodward, Meow’s stage presence is also challenged by the beautifully rich tenor of Kanen Breen.
At times the band are a seemingly disparate trio of pianists and at other times their virtuosity shines through with them playing tuba, guitar, cello, drums and other instruments, often bringing to mind the work of Yo La Tengo or Low.
While Meow has co-written around half the songs in Red Shoes, often with the Why Why Whys (Jones, Witton and Woodward), there is also an eclectic input from Amanda Palmer, Fiona Apple, Feist, Radiohead and Paul Anka.
While Here Comes the River by Canadian writer/performer Patrick Watson is a a show-stopper, all of the songs are evenly matched and interpreted with great skill and delivery.
Director Champion has taken Meow’s boundless energy and talents and woven them into a seamless performance that fully engages across a challenging evening of uplifting humour, sensuality, and virtuosic performance.
The stage set (Dann Barber) comprises of a heap of discarded household items piled at one end of the stage, symbolising the end of the world as we know it, but beware the surprises it holds.
As HC Andersen, Breen has a Nosferatu moment with his various entrances from side stage, eventually uniting with Meow under an archway of lights.
Lighting from Rachel Burke keeps Meow in the spotlight and sound and music from Woodward is beautifully presented and balanced.
For those who like traditional cabaret, Red Shoes has got it all, legs, feathers, breasts and audience participation, but with added Meow Meow. While not delivering any solutions, this work is sure to challenge and entertain from beginning to end.
Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes
Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills
Performance: Wednesday 15 October 2025
Season continues to 9 November 2025
Information and Bookings: www.belvoir.com.au
Merlyn Theatre – Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank
Season: 21 November – 6 December 2025 (previews: 19 – 20 November)
Information and Bookings: www.malthousetheatre.com.au
His Majesty’s Theatre, 825 Hay Street, Perth
Season: 26 February – 1 March 2026
Information and Bookings: www.blackswantheatre.com.au
Images: Jethro Woodward, Meow Meow and Mark Jones – photo by Brett Boardman | Meow Meow, Mark Jones, Dan Witton and Jethro Woodward – photo by Brett Boardman | Kanen Breen and Meow Meow – photo by Brett Boardman
Review: John Moyle