Naked Girls to read at Adelaide Fringe

A performer at Adelaide's Naked Girls Reading in the Garden says the show dares audiences to consider their minds.

Naked Girls Reading in the Garden is sure to attract a hell of a lot of attention at the Adelaide Fringe this February.

Four women clad in their birthday suits will take turns reading excerpts from books during 50-minute shows in The Garden of Unearthly Delights in Rundle Park.

Performer and producer Frankie Valentine says the Naked Girls Reading franchise was founded in Chicago in 2009 and now has regular performances in more than 14 American cities.

The idea was sparked by Franky Vivid arriving home to find his wife, international showgirl Michelle L'amour, naked and reading a book.

The Adelaide show will run from February 14 until March 16 in the Campanile tent in a set designed "to recreate an intimate lounge room", Valentine tells AAP.

With a background in burlesque, Valentine says she has no qualms about the performance.

She and fellow-producer, Vesper White, will be joined by different women during the series including an Adelaide dominatrix and Fiona Patten, leader of the Australian Sex Party.

The shows will have different themes including romance, diaries and letters, and trash.

Valentine says the women, aged between 25 and 45, don't look like models and are "all shapes and sizes".

"It is a beautiful thing to look at a naked woman," she says.

"And it's beautiful to be read to.

"Combining those things creates a wonderful experience."

Valentine says overseas performances usually attract a full house, and the shows appeal to both sexes.

"We invite you to look at our naked bodies, but also dare you to consider our minds," she says.

Valentine accepts that some in the audience will just want to perv at naked women.

"It's inevitable, considering the nature and title of the show," she says.

"But I say to them, I hope you leave with your intellect stimulated as well as being physically pleased."

Naked Girls Reading in the Garden will run for 24 shows, with tickets costing $28.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world