Written and performed by Hannah Chalmers this one woman show is loosely based around her experiences of working as a pole dancer in a seedy strip bar. It follows a wide-eyed and naïve young woman who calls herself baby, as she joins the club to help pay off her boyfriend’s debts and slowly finds herself consumed by an industry where faking, lying and scheming helps earn you the big money.
It’s a fascinating subject and Chalmers does not shy away from getting into darker territory as the audience bares witness to the girl’s power struggle with the customers. The line between just who is the one being exploited is constantly turned on it’s head.
Despite the subject matter the tale never becomes overly bleak instead it is filled with a warm, wry style of comedic humour which manages to make you laugh. It also makes you aware of the absurdity of the business, such as the madam of the house listing an impossibly long list of costumes that the girls can wear for the fantasy night, that range from school girls, being a dominatrix, a virgin or even the computer game character Lara Croft. The play expertly balances the humour with the themes and is further enhanced by Chalmers and her incredible one woman performance as she slips expertly between nearly a dozen characters.
This is a fascinating glimpse into another world entirely, performed expertly and the story develops into a tender, surprising direction that will stay with you long after the show.
4/5 
Martin Miller
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