When I headed up to Edinburgh, did I expect to find myself in a room dancing to the Spice Girls, Taylor Swift and other iconic female artists? No! Am I glad that it became part of my Edinburgh experience? Undoubtedly, yes! After a day of reviewing, I decided it was too early to head home and I went to check out Bad Girls. Described as an audio-visual club night where all are welcome to come, sing and dance, I was intrigued to find out more.
The brainchild of Australian DJ Carly Gray, this is no traditional show and is more like an experience. The songs throughout the experience are by female artists and are all accompanied by screens which show fun visuals all synced to the song, from clips of movies that the song might have been from, talking heads of iconic female historical figures to excerpts from music videos, all with Carly’s own fun twist on them. It certainly gives a fun focal point throughout her set.
The music is pure pop and for someone like me that sits firmly in the category of pop princess, this was the perfect selection of songs to get me onto the dance floor. Carly, however, mixes the songs cleverly with each other as well as elements of dance music to ensure we aren’t just listening to the type of set we could hear anywhere.
Carly herself is a joy to watch behind the decks. Clad in a long pink wig and an unmistakable pink outfit, she stands out for all the right reasons. When not mixing the music, she is up dancing and being the hype girl you never knew you needed. It is testament to her energy and likeability that there was a queue afterwards to get a photo with her and she seemed genuinely thrilled with all the connections she was making.
Bad Girls is exactly the sort of unexpected experience that makes the Fringe so much fun. It is joyous, unapologetically pop and incredibly easy to lose yourself in, whether you want to dance at the front or simply soak up the atmosphere. After a long day of reviewing, it was exactly the sort of night I didn’t know I needed and one that reminded me that sometimes the best Fringe experiences are the ones you stumble across when you aren’t looking for them
Bad Girls of History plays each night at the Three Sisters from 23:00 – 00:30. To find out more and book tickets check out the Fringe website here.
If you like this review you might also like my review of Girlhood In the Bathroom, Hole and Bliss.