Tired Ass Showgirls @ Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide 7/6/2025
They’re tired. They’re fabul-ass. They’re showgirls. And they are everything!
From the moment Seann Miley Moore (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Brendan de la Hay (Australia’s Got Talent) strut on the stage in headdresses taller than a drag queen’s dreams, Tired Ass Showgirls grabs you by the feather boa and doesn’t let go.
Conceived and performed by Moore & de la Hay, co-written by Jared Jekyll, with music direction from Benjamin Kiehne, Tired Ass Showgirls is the story of two friends. Friends whose careers play out on the stage. Friends whose asses are now tired after years of entertaining others.
With a four-piece backing band, Moore and de la Hay power through a riotous, campy Pride Medley served with jazz hands, kilometres of tulle, and a dollop of lash glue. The hour-long extravaganza features the two performers alternating showstopping numbers. From covers, The Show Must Go On, Locomotion, and Oops!.. I Did It Again to some of Moore’s original, unreleased songs, including the sublime Spell on You, this cabaret is no sleepy affair.
Moore is a vocal powerhouse. Not just a singer but a feeler. A roundhouse-kick-to-the-chest and break-your-heart kind of performer. De la Hay is visual poetry in motion. Part alien deity, part unparalleled fashion oracle, but all heart. Together, they are chaos and chemistry. Think Ab Fab meets Priscilla with symphony-sized voice-boxes.
The pair’s deep connection shines like a mirror ball in a spotlight. Dazzling, undeniable, and impossible to ignore. Amid the scripted components is the no-holds-barred banter of two friends having a ball and living their best lives. Stories of reality television escapades and nights in New York are a delight. These glimmers of reality behind the mask of entertainment elevate an already spectacular show.
Tired Ass Showgirls is unfiltered flamboyance. It is a spellbinding cabaret with no safe word. Because behind every tired ass is a fabulous story.
Cabaret Festival Review By Anita Kertes
Photo Credit: Claudio Raschella