A nice blend of enthusiasm, irony and avant-garde theatricality makes for an entertaining show that delivers a sharp political message while deftly avoiding the pitfall of preachiness.
Saraid Cameron and Amelia Reynolds, the co-creators of Cult Show: The Revitalisation of the NZ Women's Archives, build a strong bond with the audience as they share their delight in discovering an archive of press clippings about New Zealand women that languishes in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Library.
As they issue a clarion call for revitalising the archive's celebration of New Zealand's unsung women, their earnest enthusiasm is undercut with ironic asides, cute puppets and synchronised dance moves.
An intriguing miscellany of excerpts from the files throws up sketches of an athlete, a mountain-climber, a gardener, political activists and an ad agency executive. These little-known stories suggest the old method of physically collecting press-clippings might still have something to offer in the age of the Google search.
But rather than delving into the content of the archive the material becomes a springboard for a freewheeling excursion into contemporary feminist politics. A file on Donna Awatere Huata's checkered career triggers an amusing riff on Janet Jackson's media profile and the drama is enlivened as the two performers offer radically divergent positions on a range of contemporary issues.
