CAN'T BE TAMED Bakehouse Theatre Until 25 Feb 2017 Review by Tony Busch Now I’m certainly not a fan of Mliey Cyrus (and I’ve never actually seen Hannah Montana) but I left this show with a mixture of saddness and empathy. For me, Cyrus has always epitomised the hedonism of a brat-pack teenager who is out to shock and confront to make-up for a lack of talent. However, there seems to be more to the story than expected. Delve into some of the interviews available online and she makes some insightful comments on media exposure, her slant on feminism and the need to conform to stereotypes. Mylie Cyrus appears to be something of a modern-day Judy Garland, a child star who got screwed by the studio system (in this case Disney) and found life as an adult hard to cope with because of it. This “anti-biography”, as the blurb describes the show, attempts to present a truncated history of Cyrus’s ascent and descent using quotes from her autobiography, media coverage and song lyrics. There are some great moments throughout the hour-long piece but, sadly, Danni Ray and Justin Nott never quite reach the depths the story requires. Ray does well to express much of the anguish of the subject while Nott spends his time in a Mickey Mouse bondage mask as a sort of everyman character. There is a bit too much frenetic dumb-show, set to Cyrus soundtracks, and too little monologue. What could have been a serious examination of exploitation is merely a superficial glimpse of the price of fame. That said, the show apparently played to sold-out houses in Melbourne’s Fringe. Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 5)