The very best Fringe shows are the ones that you stumble onto unexpectedly.
A lot of the time it’s word of mouth that makes you book a show. For this show in particular, it was spotting a crew of young women clad in matching pink velour tracksuits at The Producers Bar on Thursday night’s Fringe launch. It was clear that whatever show they were putting on, we needed to be there.
Put on by Sydney production company The General Public, ‘Noughty Girls’ is a high-energy sketch comedy about all things 2000’s. The story loosely follows friends Kim, Hannah, and Courtney in the time leading up to their ten-year high school reunion. It’s chock-full of everything you loved (and hated) about the year 2004.
Kim, Hannah, and Courtney consult with the Dolly Doctor (yes, there are sealed section references) about the problems that they are having before the reunion. What follows is an anti-Brazilian-waxing song, and a (wonderfully aggressive) anti-gluten-free song. There are also sketches about The OC, a (wildly accurate) Kath & Kim parody, and an ode to 2000’s music.
If you nod when someone references diamanté Havianas, “Cute But Psycho” Supré slogan tees, or intoxicating clouds of Lynx Africa, then this is for you. If you appreciate a 2000’s throwback song (and love Night Call at Rhino Room), this is absolutely the show for you. And yes, Avril Lavinge is part of the soundtrack.
Noughty Girls is a pink-velour-tracksuit-clad romp around the stage. There are genuine belly laughs the entire way through, which is what you would expect from a show with on-stage Rosé chugging. The show is smaller and more intimate than other Fringe shows, and this also means that tickets are cheap and fit student budgets.
Overall, Noughty Girls is a whole lot of fun. The experience feels like hanging out with your funniest friends and reminiscing, and it’s easy to forget that you don’t actually know Kim, Hannah, and Courtney. See it with a group of friends and be sure to have a few drinks on hand. This is some serious nostalgic mayhem, put on by wildly funny women. Get Ur Freak On and get to this show.