Learn more about this standout show
BY VEE WILSON, IMAGE BY MORGAN MCDOWELL
Kesha’s Cannibal fills the room, a deliciously camp warning that something hungry lurks beneath the surface – a subtle, or not so subtle, hint of what’s to come. The atmosphere is electric as everyone packs into the small venue, and even on the show’s closing day, every seat is taken. Suddenly, the music cuts, the room plunges into darkness, and the click of heels echoes ominously across the black and white linoleum floor.
When the lights snap back on, we meet Shirley, a 1950s American housewife. In her bright yellow dress and clown-like red cheeks and nose, she stands out against the black and white flooring as she aggressively scrubs at a mysterious, stubborn stain. From beneath a table, a pale, creepy hand comes into view; a chilling suggestion of the secrets that hide beneath this seemingly spotless domestic surface.
From here, What If They Ate The Baby? unravels as both mystery and social critique. The audience is cast as a surveillant and detective – a witness to Shirley and her neighbour Dotty, who repeat their housewife routines in a loop that becomes increasingly fractured, paranoid, and terrifying. The bright smiles and polite chatter mask the suffocating reality of these women who are trapped in lives that aren’t their own.
Performers Xhloe and Natasha sustain the tension beautifully, layering humour and unease until it boils over. While the sound of footsteps on the ceiling above, ominous knocks at the door, and eerie glances off stage suggest that someone is watching, the show hints at buried truths: a hidden queer desire simmering beneath repression and the paranoia of abortion in a society that renders women powerless. These themes aren’t necessarily explicitly explained; instead, they’re fragmented and coded, mirroring the ways women’s experiences have historically been silenced or dismissed. Only at the climax, when Shirley and Dotty’s facade cracks beyond repair, does the horror spill fully into view.
Cleverly stylised and unsettlingly relevant, What If They Ate The Baby? reimagines the 1950s housewife not as a nostalgic figure but as a site of tension, fear, and survival. It’s camp, it’s creepy, and it’s politically sharp. Xhloe and Natasha give a performance that serves to remind us of how much queer desire and women’s autonomy have historically been forced underground. The show exposes the fear and pressure facing queer women in the 1950s – the silence around desire, choice, and survival – in ways that still resonate today. It’s a reminder that these struggles aren’t just history, but that the silence forced onto women still exists in the present.
Xhloe and Natasha are certainly performers to watch out for. While they’re taking a well-deserved rest at the moment, they’ll be announcing some exciting things soon – so keep up to date by following them on Instagram.
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