Going into Tease at Crow’s Theatre the other night, I had no idea what to expect.
I’d seen the racy poster for the show, which is created by and stars actor-improviser Lindsay Mullan, musical comedian Glenys Marshall, and music theatre performer Mei Miyazawa. I knew the show was 18+. Beyond that, it was a blank slate.
Coming out of Tease, I can say with confidence that I’ve never seen a theatrical show with so much female nudity. Whether that appeals for prurient reasons or simple curiosity . . . or unnerves because it sounds indecent, I heartily recommend seeing the show. Because no matter where a spectator is coming from, I expect they will find themselves surprised, delighted, titillated, amused, embarrassed, challenged . . . and even moved. The difference from person to person is the timing, the intensity and the proportion of each.
The nudity is one part of the cause (and to be clear, it had me squirming in discomfort at moments during the show) – but for my money, this complex range of effects is what’s most powerful about the show.
Tease is a slickly mounted variety show that tacks back and forth between sexy and funny – with playfulness, intention and virtuosity – bringing the repressed, the randy and the rube alike on a journey that will leave almost all smiling . . . and thinking. Confident, racy and playful, Mullan, Marshall and Miyazawa have scripted and (along with Gabriel Gonçalves and Dana Thody) choreographed a show in which they strut, step, spray, tease and tassel-twirl their way through a dizzying array of mediums. There are funny sketches about cowboys and French maids. There’s full-on burlesque, including a nightly guest performance. There are knockout musical numbers, like Marshall’s show-stopping song about men she’d like to murder. And there’s dance, including my favorite number of the night, in which Miyazawa tap dances to a golden oldie tune in three riveting minutes of cognitive dissonance.
Knitting it all together is an abundance of sexy stuff – and tongue-in-cheek mockery of sexy stuff – sometimes with audience interaction, and usually with award-winning Second City stage veteran Mullan acting as ringleader. The show works so well because it is tightly polished and because Mullan is utterly at ease, in control, and having so much fun at all times. She knows exactly where the show needs to go next . . . yet she is in the moment, delightedly interacting and improvising with the particular audience she finds herself with.
In a talkback after the show, Mullan located the genesis of the show in the truism that you can’t be sexy and funny at the same time. Being sexy, she explained, is being a “high status” object of desire. Meanwhile, being funny involves lowering your status to make yourself the subject of laughter. Mullan accepts that it’s necessary to choose between the two. But she resents how the world tries to make that choice for women by telling them when to be sexy and when to be funny – or that they can only be one or the other.
The show’s amazing balancing act – between mediums and moods, and between sexy and funny – is her proof point. And in the show’s remarkably brave and empowering final scene, Mullan throws in a magic trick for good measure. She garners the biggest laughs of the night while placing herself in what, on the surface, seems to be the sexiest possible situation. And in and around all that laughter, she sticks the landing on a powerful, heartfelt body positivity message for women that doubles as a challenge for the men in the audience.
It’s magic.
Tease is a tremendously fun experience that thwarts expectations and easy definition. Given its contents, the show could easily be a jarring, lecture-y, or even sad experience. Instead, thanks to the tight script, diversity of approaches and strong production values – plus the charisma and fearlessness of the three stars – it’s more like a party.
Despite the nudity, it’s not like an irresponsible blind-drunk party, where you wake the next day with memory loss and a hangover.
No – this is the best kind of party: one where you’re always at least a little off-balance. Where you meet new, surprising people who tell interesting stories and offer challenging perspectives. Where you laugh long and loud. And the next morning, you’ve got lots to talk about and even more to think more about. . . and maybe you’ve even grown a little.
Tease, a Big City Kitties production in association with Crow’s Theatre, has been extended until March 30, 2024. For audience information and tickets, visit crowstheatre.com.
© Scott Sneddon, SesayArts Magazine, 2024
