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Below is a review for The Skirt Network Showcase 'Skirting Around'... BUZZCUTS October 2009 by Jodie Kinnersley "...Skirting Around was a solid two hours of quality performers. With such a large and diverse line up, it certainly had the vibe of an open mic night about it, or even an interminable school assembly. But there's no denying that as the acts kept coming, so did the laughs. Standouts were Telia Neville, Isabel Hertaeg and Bron Batten. Check them out. And of course, headliners Celia Pacquola, Geraldine Quinn and Felicity Ward delivered as expected. In particular, Quinn showed the newcomers how to hold an audience after a long night. It's a thick program for the fringe this year and as always the task of narrowing down which shows to see is momentous. After Skirting Around though, my list just got longer." Below are reviews for 'Hex And The City'... MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 2009 April 2009 "Doesn't miss a beat... sing, you bloodnut, sing!" - THE AGE (Melbourne) EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2009 August 2009 "Hilarious... outstanding... a gifted comic songstress" - Hairline.co.uk "Cleverly bitter material" - The List (UK) "A voice that is nothing less than magnificent and... no mean guitar player also" one4review.com (UK) "Magical musicianship... devilish charm... fantastic and her voice was truly beautiful, used with a terrific level of passion" - Three Weeks (UK) ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL 2009 ADELAIDE ADVERTISER March 2009 by Tristan Willes 
As well as a multitude of festive party-goers, this year's Fringe Festival also apparently features an angry mob seeking to burn witches. Geraldine Quinn stars in "Hex and the City", an atheist musical with a cameo from Christ. "Captain Rock" Geraldine starts with the history of her unlucky career in acting, leading into her energetic song defending her work as stagecraft not witchcraft. As an angry mob descends on the building, Geraldine brings out the claws and attacks her housemate, dead boyfriend, religion and the paranormal, through a series of cleverly devised, brutally honest musical numbers. Ultimately Hex and the City persuades us that if you don't believe in something, it won't exist! As the angry mob is dissolved by "Captain Rock" and her friend, Jesus, through their vicious yet delightful songs, we are reminded of how ridiculous some of society's pre-judgements can be, and reminded to steer clear of the "burn heretics not fossil fuels" party. RIP IT UP (ADELAIDE) - issue 1023 March 2009 by Scott McLennan If a Fringe Award existed for Funniest Muff Euphemisms Delivered In Song, Melbourne comic Geraldine Quinn's ode to being burnt at the stake by witch-hunters would be the unanimous victor. Although the firecrotched funnywoman fears having her strawberry field razed and ginge minge singed by a scatological, anti-heretic mob, her anxiety at being part of a Salem barbecue doesn't stop her from delivering a blazing hour of comedy. Swapping her idolatry from Bowie to Bradshaw for Hex And The City (a brief Tin Machine reference creeps in), Quinny's witty assessment of being a single woman in her mid-30s also finds time to send up self-absorbed artistes, bad housemates and dud boyfriends (via a pastiche resembling Phil Spector soundtracking Shaun Of The Dead). Ditch your Jazz Hands And Spirit Fingers Class on Thursday nights and check out Geraldine instead. Quinn t' essential. DB MAGAZINE (ADELAIDE) - issue 461 March 2009 by Steve Jones Already hounded by her own insecurities and neurotic behaviour brought on by an impressionable eleven year niece, matters become seriously exasperated when Geraldine Quinn learns of an angry mob coming to burn her at the stake for social heresy. Redheaded, single and without children, Quinn in her first one person musical theatre production, 'Hex & The City', is now frantically trying to come to terms with not only any intolerance shown towards her, but minorities throughout the world as well. And as the crusade moves in closer for the kill, alerting her of their every move via text messages, she has little choice but to take stock of her life, both past and present in order to find some rationale of defence and possible repentance. Sounds heavy? As the show's title suggests, there's certainly more than a few well founded nods towards a certain television show of a similar name to not only provide an unrealistic yardstick of modern femininity, it also gives her, along with newspaper horoscopes and other baseless Zen-like beliefs, plenty of much needed ammunition to retort back the only way she knows how; that's by the satirical use of vitriol and song. With over twenty years of acting behind her and an amazing voice that easily switches between acoustic pop and full blown rock/gospel, not forgetting an intelligently inquisitive thirst to fully flesh out her subjects, Quinn most certainly succeeds in achieving all set goals here. But can she still escape? Below is a review for 'Dumb Things'... ADELAIDE ADVERTISER February 2008 by Tory Shepherd Geraldine Quinn starts with the funny-first-love story and works her way through various hilarious situations. Her family, her life, and her interactions with bogans and beggars all play a part in this vibrant show. [...] Where Quinn shines and becomes something special is when she sings. Her glorious voice and inventive, devastatingly funny lyrics, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, lift this show above the great masses of mediocre comics. This self-professed "trash pop ginger" in jeans is a gutsy, dirty-talking talent. In short: Raunchy rocker. Below are reviews for 'SexDeathBowie'... (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007) HAIRLINE.ORG.UK August 2007 by Luke Wilkie
Geraldine Quinn's 'SEXDEATHBOWIE' at the Gilded Balloon is on a gloriously intimate scale. If you don't yet know Geraldine Quinn, then you will be stunned by her song-writing and musical performance. All aspects of both are exquisitely excellent. It is such pleasure to be presented with phrase after phrase of brilliantly crafted, intelligently comic lyrics. Her supporting instrumentals are inventively composed, varied, and ripe with interesting progressions. In performance, her guitar is flawlessly executed. Her expressive vocals flit through sweet, gutsy, neurotic, plaintive and playful moods. She delivers nothing short of treasure to be fingered in memory. Geraldine's physical presence on stage is engaging like few others, crackling with energy. She leads in and out of musical elements with extended deft discourse that adds much to the performance. Because it is a tiny venue, at times, the animated intensity of her spoken elements can reach a manic pitch, and they are more enjoyable in the sections that they feel more relaxed. Geraldine has merchandise available if you discover you need to hear more of her work, and, professionally, she lets her performance rather than a repeated sales pitch sell it. She makes herself explicitly available for a chat afterwards, which matches nicely with the scale of the venue and demonstrates respect for her appreciative audience. Be warned that, the rare intensity of her performance is equalled by the intensity of the heat within the Wee Room performance space - dress with an under layer suited to an equatorial summer. You know your performer values their audience when they bring sweets and water to help them cope with the heat! THREE WEEKS August 2007 
Quinn takes a break from strumming just to tell us about how she wrote to Kylie Minogue and never heard back. Equally, Dolly Parton is presumably still too busy to return her calls. It's their loss. Comparing herself to David Bowie - in the hair department mostly - this one woman show blasts out a unique brand of musically charged pessimism with a frightening measure of passion. The songs range from a cheery little ditty about skin cancer to an attack on the philosophies of David Hume. The birthday song she wrote for her niece is wonderfully bleak and I dare you not to enjoy the sing-along at the end. Not for the easily offended mind, but everyone else will definitely find something to enjoy. ONE4REVIEW August 2007
Geraldine Quinn, a flame haired Aussie, is an example of the art of singer-comedians who intersperse the comedy songs with a wicked line in comic material. I had previously only seen excerpts of Ms Quinn's act at press launches and the like, so was unaware of the full extent of her abilities. Geraldine starts off with a song lamenting the fact that David Bowie wasn't her dad, told a story about a song rejected by Kylie and Delta Goodrem and wondered why.Material about last year's Fringe, well the bits she can remember, confrontations with builders and drunks this year and Christmas in the family home were wickedly observed and presented and together with her songs, well it is a recipe for a late night fun hour. EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS August 2007 by Margaret Paul PERFORMER AS INFECTIOUS AS THE TITLE SEXDEATHBOWIE is about as catchy a title as you'll get in this year's Fringe, and its performer, Geraldine Quinn, is just as infectious, although more in a syphilis-infectious way than giggling-infectious - she is a talented cabaret star, with a killer voice and disturbing lyrics. Beginning with a rather sinister ode to her great influence, David Bowie, she laments what could have been if only she had been fathered by the rock god. Bowie's influence is evident as Quinn's songs vary between catchy pop numbers, bitter love ditties and laments about what people can do under the influence of red wine. Quinn is a commanding performer, whose facial expressiveness is captivating. Her material is edgy. There are songs about her inability to play sports, her hatred for orange fake tans, and Kylie Minogue. All delivered with her signature bitterness. Seeing this gorgeous redhead perform in the Gilded Balloon's Wee Room is slightly jarring - she would be much better suited to classy cocktails and candlelight. But this incongruity is all part of the fun of the Fringe and Quinn makes the most of the tiny venue. The songs are the highlight, especially when the audience are invited to sing along in a twisted upbeat finale that is guaranteed to make you feel better. It does... despite its warped content. Quinn is a gifted, hardworking entertainer, and this biting cabaret is a delight. UPFRONT 13 / THE AGE April 2007 By Cameron Woodhead In his book Seriously Funny (1997), Howard Jacobson claims that female comics are at a disadvantage. Apparently, they're genitally challenged. What they've got downstairs can't "match the phallus for mobility, greed and indifference". How dumb is that? Upfront is a traditional gala event that gathers together the funniest femmes of the festival. And this year, the depth of talent was amazing. Performing a snippet from a longer show is no easy thing. Chief among those flattered by the format were the songsters: Selina Jenkins proved you don't need a wingwang to do country cock rock; Geraldine Quinn treated us to a child's birthday song that dived into a pool of misanthropic, angst-ridden hilarity; and Jackie Loeb broke into filthy easy listening. The international attractions were at the top of their game. Josie Long with her marvellous midriff and potato-based whimsy, and Shappi Khorsandi - whose cross-eyed, cross-cultural comedy was at its smartest and most supple. As always, the locals were a strong presence. Denise Scott on skin disorders and mile-high sex, Christine Basil's inimitably witty one-liners, Andrea Powell's impersonations, Kate McLelland's hilarious monologue from The Debutante Diaries. There also were disturbing tunes with Fiona-Scott Norman, the familiar goofiness of Corinne Grant, and the irrepressible Fiona O'Loughlin. While some of the comedy had a feminine tilt - vaginal gags, menopause, pregnancy - Upfront presented a showcase of comic talent so versatile and multifaceted that potted summaries fail to do it justice. Below are reviews for SexDeathBowie (Melbourne Comedy Festival 2007) THE GROGGY SQUIRREL www.thegroggysquirrel.com April 2007 By Erin Davidson The title of this show encompasses the three major driving forces in Geraldine Quinn's life _ sex, death and David Bowie, who in her first song could be her father. If she could bring herself to sing soppy love songs she would be winning Aria awards with her faultless voice, but instead she is continually attracting sell out crowds to her comedy cabaret shows with her dark and inappropriate humour. Australian female pop stars such as Delta Goodrem keep turning down her suggested lyrics for some reason. I mean, why would Delta have a problem singing a song about skin cancer? Sarah Blasko didn't go for the one about the morning after a big night out either. Strange. Geraldine cleverly introduces each song in a way that we never expect what is coming and succeeds in building the right amount of anticipation in between songs. Her performance is as fiery as her hair and her perfectly timed, wide-eyed expressions beneath her sweeping fringe effectively adds to the punch lines within each song. Geraldine's apparent bleak outlook on life has resulted in other songs featured in this show such as the one about how it all goes downhill once you hit double figures. She uses her musical talent to sing her support of the uncoordinated and to vent her frustrations over The Veronicas. The satisfied crowd was eager to spur her on to a second encore. Geraldine should be an inspiration for any female comedienne hopefuls, as her powerful presence on stage and her ability to draw her audiences in to her twisted world is a skill to admire. (Adelaide Fringe Festival, March, 2007) THE SUNDAY MAIL (Adelaide) March 2007 By Matt Byrne 1/
Geraldine Quinn is the best reason to go to the Fringe this year. If you're sick of the production line of stand-up comics, this performer is something refreshingly irreverent. She's Lunar Park with a guitar, tantalising teeth and talent that bite on things that give us all the shits. Whether she's writing new anthems for Delta Goodrem, getting stuck into train timetables or just venting her spleen about The Veronicas, Quinn is ferocious and funny.ƯAnd the more she gets stuck into the world she questions, the more we love her electric lyrics, flashy guitar style and ability to nail an annoyance. And its not just the comedy songs that make her worth seeing - her patter matters, too, and she knows how to set up a song, which is just as important. Don't miss Happy Birthday Caitlin - the best reason to never bother turning 11. Below are reviews for BUTTERFLY AFFAIR (Butterfly Club, Melbourne, November, 2006) THE SUNDAY AGE 5 November 2006 By John Bailey Geraldine Quinn, chanteuse extraordinaire, is also very funny. Her current show at the truly intimate Butterfly Club is loosely based on the idea of getting different folk to stick the boot into various well-known musical acts. The night we went it wad the "suicide music" of The Smiths that was up for a caning, though in truth they didn't feature much outside Quinn's monologue. Her own songs are wonderful; the opener, about being abnormally normal (the perversity of a nice cup of tea), was hilarious, and there's also a gem addressed to a 10-year-old, warning she's as happy as she's ever likely to be. The best thing in her second set was a carefully considered stitch-up of The Veronicas (described on one website as having "quickly become an instant success"). Pianist Dan Walmsley did an amusing compilation that included stray bits of Elton John and Anthony Menchetti, pretty much the same material as in his solo show earlier this year, to close the evening. Next Saturday is the last of these shows, and is billed as the Grand Finale - The David Bowie Extravaganza. Guests include Scott Brennan, Mark Woodward and Karlis Zaid. Definitely worth a look. Below are reviews for BAD AMBASSADOR (Edinburgh, MICF & Adelaide Cabaret Festivals, 2006) EDINBURGH FESTIVAL / THE HERALD 7 August 2006 By Colin Somerville
GILDED BALLOON TEVIOT Who is this unlikely lovechild of Mick Ronson and Kiki Dee, attacking her audience like she's at Madison Square Garden, spitting out a song spanning ancient Greek history, castration and Sonny and Cher? Only the toast of this year's Melbourne Comedy Festival, that's who, revelling in androgynous rock stars such as David Bowie and, er, Paris Hilton. In a tune possibly called Mannish Girl, Quinn hopscotches down the fine line between the sexes and lands in both boxes at the end. "I write it, sing it and roll around in it," she beams about her material, and she rolls with a vengeance in a routine involving some Aussie neds - "victims of sartorial misadventure" - and their inexplicable desire to pick a fight with a dolphin and kick it in the groin. That segues into possibly the best one-liner you will hear about polar bears on the Fringe this year. But the music is what makes Quinn stand out among the stand-ups, and her voice is an impressive instrument. You almost wonder why she didn't make singing her career; although don't make the mistake of assuming it has yet to occur to her. Until August 28. EDINBURGH FESTIVAL / ONE 4 REVIEW 7 August 2006 By One 4 Review
BAD AMBASSADOR The title of a Fringe show usually gives an insight to the content, but Geraldine Quinn's 'Bad Ambassador' she even admits, isn't really anything to do with it. As an ambassador for Australia, well she promotes antipodean talents, for love? Well she has some strange tastes and has some bad luck in choosing her partners. For life? She couldn't be said to be an ideal role model unless you want lessons in stalking. For tact? I'll let her tell you about that. She is an attractive, extremely talented lady with a very good voice and a wicked sense of humour when it comes to her song lyrics. This small intimate space is warm to say the least but as she is developing a Fringe following, get a ticket if you can and widen her fan base. ADELAIDE ADVERTISER 12 June 2006 By Samela Harris ONE WOMAN BUT WITH SO MANY SIDES She writes it. She sings it. She rolls around in it. That is how Geraldine Quinn describes her show. One woman and a guitar - one mighty-voiced woman with a generous range and very offbeat with red hair. She arrives on stage assuming an Elvis snarl and sings an erudite saga about Abelard and Eloise, Oedipus, Cleopatra, Sonny and Cher and how love ends in grief. She seems suddenly rather posh. Not so. She's a girl from the wrong side of Melbourne, she says, and she can do a bogan accent. She turns this on to sing about her taste in androgynes. Then, in her comic patter, she claims to have given up dreams of being a serial killer for the art of stalking at which she is talented. She sings about how ordinary she is "a woman with pastel secrets" but she has a pathological fear of rabbits and tends to be disgraceful. One has no idea whom she is but she is funny and a helluva singer. THE AGE 18 April 2006 By Helen Razer 
SUPERSTAR IN THE MAKING Geraldine Quinn knows a lot of stuff. She has the sordid tongue of an accomplished lout. Further, one of her central preoccupations seems to be the construction of gender and sexuality. A clever, foul-mouthed sizzling post-feminist fishwife with a guitar is this reviewer's idea of comic bliss. But this program of all-singing, all-swearing discontent never quite lives up to its author's kicking promise. This is not to suggest that fans of cabaret, high-end swearing and songs about misshapen genitals should not see Bad Ambassador. In fact, anyone with a nose for young comedy would be advised to make the effort. When Quinn's startling talents settle and are enunciated so well that she is catapulted to international superstardom, at least you'll be able to boast that you saw her when she wasn't all that perfect. Quinn is a rare bird, a gifted singer-songwriter and an entity delectably strange to endure. She's astonishing and would take the victory belt in a comic smack-down against a number of her peers. However, she seems in this interval to almost be coasting. She's whip smart and well-read with an enormous voice. While these muscles alone are sufficient to raise some belly laughs and the feel of a rather good night out, they could be more diligently exercised. This brutal, beautiful androgyne is bound for untamed success. When she tames and tortures her talent just a little, she is likely to produce a disturbing smash hit. THE SUNDAY AGE 23 April 2006 By Owen Richardson
The love song is the cornerstone of pop music, so it's the first duty of every comic songwriter to take to mickey out of the whole hearts-and-flowers thang. At Trades Hall, Geraldine Quinn opened with a sensational tour of star-crossed lovers from history, including the doomed monk Abelard, castrated (Quinn's expression was saltier) by his girlfriend Eloise's family. Sentiment was as so much piffle to Quinn, who also sang about the source of her aversion to rabbits, being the myxomatosised bunny her parents gave her when she was a girl. The audience on the night I went was much smaller than she deserved, but made up for it with enthusiasm; the room was mostly empty, but by no means dead. Her last song was inspired by Orwell's remark that a woman can't be low without being disgusting, and was low and disgusting and very funny. Boy, can she sing, too. One of her songs was about being just a normal kind of girl, but we know she isn't really, right? INPRESS MAGAZINE 10 May 2006 By Rebecca Cook Geraldine Quinn's comedic cabaret is the fifth show I've seen in the Comedy Fest and the first to give me that really bowel-disturbing belly laugh. It came quite unexpectedly as well; that's not to say that Quinn isn't funny, but I just expected to find that completely involuntary growl in a stand-up show. But there it was, Quinn was halfway through a very dainty song on the uses for a male appendage when I found myself convulsing to her witty, smutty strains. Quinn is blessed with a sharp eye, a quick tongue, a blistering voice and a fantastic haircut. We could easily hate her for this except that through her songs and banter we learn of her debt, her relationship woes and that the fact that she also lives a tracksuit-down-the-shops boring life. Her songs range from rocky tunes to diva ballads and she pulls them all off with the same tongue-in-cheek aplomb. Her number about the dangers of being mates with an artist was painfully realistic and absolutely hilarious. Her material about married people was, equally, achingly astute. One thing's for sure, Quinn is a bad ambassador for artists and singletons everywhere. And the audience lapped up every bit of it. Structurally the show hung together effortlessly and the time flew. With a superb voice and an excellent sense of timing, she's a little like Gene Wilder playing Willy Wonka; she appears to be using her powers for good but there's a sense of something sinister lurking below the surface. THE PUN www.thepun.com 20 April 2006 By Kim Edwards Meet Gerry, the self-proclaimed Pete Townshend of cabaret - singer, song writer, guitarist, and one very funny young lady. If an early night in the season is any indication, her approach to the cabaret genre is pleasantly casual and chatty, and some of the best moments in her latest show, Bad Ambassador, spring from witty ad-libs with her audience, her techie and some personal digressions. Although a number of her songs have a similar sound, the lyrics are both clever and creative, and the rhymes so fun that the audience is often already laughing in delighted anticipation of the punchlines. I had some issues with sound and diction in this show, which could well be nothing more than early glitches: there was distortion with volume changes (in a musical style which so obviously lends itself to the acoustic) that made key lyrics difficult to hear, and the opening pre-record was fairly unintelligible - I'm still not quite sure of the significance of the show's title. However, these are minor gripes over a performance that is engaging, easy-paced and full of hilarious anecdotes about life as a struggling cabaret star. Though her encore piece wasn't the best choice for her audience on the night, Gerry's comic delivery moves so smoothly between deadpan, expressively satirical and downright charming, and her material is so accessible, that I still left the show grinning. A really enjoyable performance all round. THE GROGGY SQUIRREL www.thegroggysquirrel.com 17 April 2006 By Julia Hay I truly do admire musical comedy. The ability to write a song is by no means an easy task, let alone having humour and wit weaved into the lyrics. This year Geraldine Quinn is the Bad Ambassador. Geraldine's bitter yet witty lyrics about how life isn't all that great are delivered to us by her soulful voice. Geraldine's voice is both captivating and chilling; at one stage I had goosebumps. Her beautiful tones and vocal power is a great asset in itself. Armed with just an acoustic guitar she invites you to take a glimpse into her not so perfect life. From singing songs about being dull and boring to having pet rabbits dying from myxomatosis I was thoroughly amused by Geraldine's performance. Having been told she has never had a singing lesson before I was amazed by her vocal projection and range. I found myself laughing not only at the lyrics but by the fact I would have never heard about some of these topics sung in such a beautiful way, especially singing so candidly about having wanting to have a penis. To help with her audience interaction the houselights are up for majority of the show. Geraldine is truly gifted with her graceful voice. Go and be captivated and disturbed by this truly original Bad Ambassador. BACK TO THE TOP... 
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