By Megan Blackwell

Artist: Louise Beuvink

Date/Venue: Wednesday May 17th - 20th - The Vault at Q Theatre, Auckland

In the same way you can glean a lot about a movie from it’s poster, a lot can be picked up from Beuvink’s vintage styled poster for Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette. She’s immaculately groom; pulling the perfect Hollywood golden age actress expression; while unabashedly flipping the bird. This efficiently sums up her show. It tears down outdated expectations of women; calls out gender double standard bullshit; and lays down some real talk about relationships and lady bits.

The stage is set out like a 1950s homemaker’s “how to” set with checkered table cloths, doilies and aprons. Beuvink ingratiates the stage in same gorgeous swing dress she’s wearing in her poster, along with some to-die-for pink heels. And that’s where the glamour ends.
She then addresses the impracticality of said pink heels and performs the rest of the show without them.

Beuvink is a natural storyteller and performer. The show is a mix of her experiences, a cooking demonstration, a whimsical musical number and super practical makeup tutorial. Her approach is both smart and witty. She is unapologetically honest about how funny and absurd it is to be a woman in this day and age. It’s absolutely no mystery as to why she had to add an extra show to the festival after her shows sold out.