Review: Powerful Voices Take You On A Journey In FEELING PRETTY

I was lucky enough to catch the short run of FEELING PRETTY at SixtyNine Theatre last week, presented by Buttermoon Productions. It's a strong and important story told mostly through song - and some incredibly powerful voices - about how society sees women as just pretty faces.

FEELING PRETTY is set in the studio of an imaginary radio station - Good Time Radio - that has a distinct 1950s feel to it. The three performers - Raquel played by Ariella Barnett, Belle played by Amy Reed and Michelle played by Line Koen - do a live performance segment every night on the station. The radio show's host - John Smith - is merely a voice who talks over the women and certainly doesn't come to their aid when the rowdy live audience (also done through voice overs) makes chauvinist comments about the three women.

The story is that of self-discovery. The women go from 1950s-style pinups, singing and smiling through the catcalling, to disillusionment and finally through to finding their own voices and power. It's a strong story and the choice of songs is spot on. I also can't fault the incredible voices of all three women - they have a definite gift and I thoroughly enjoyed their musical performances.

Where the show got a little lost for me was in the in-between parts. I truly felt the emotions of all the characters while they were singing, and even while they were on stage listening to one of the others singing. However, things got a little forced in the dialogue sections and I felt that the script could be a bit more fleshed out. There was just a bit too much dead space in between the singing, especially when they were moving onto the next night's show within the story.

FEELING PRETTY is definitely worth watching for the powerful singing and the beautiful harmonising (I'm a sucker for a good harmony). I hope they bring the production back again to stages around Cape Town and further afield, and that they continue to grow the show from strength to strength.

Photo credit: Nardus Engelbrecht

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FEELING PRETTY is presented by Buttermoon Productions. Keep an eye on their social media for more details about upcoming performances.

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