Moss Meunier
What is a force powerful enough to prevent a schoolgirl with a blazer littered with rainbow pins from discovering she’s a lesbian? Heteronormativity! In Phoebs, You’re a Lesbian, Phoebe Rodger takes us all back into the closet to emerge more explosively than ever.
It’s a musical cabaret about how deeply internalised homophobia can be entrenched even when you’re a proud “ally” to the community. Heteronormativity is a powerful social and cultural norm that is famous in the queer community and has a particularly powerful presence for lesbians. If you’ve ever picked a boy in your class at random to pretend you had a crush on, or only crush on exceptionally unavailable or feminine men – it is likely heteronormativity at play.
Phoebs, the titular character, is the perfect victim of this heteronormativity, and through this enchanting whirlwind cabaret of self-exploration – it is going to take some seriously ridiculous moments to finally realise what should have been obvious from the get-go. From a rehearsed first kiss that feels more like doom than butterflies, to a crush on the reincarnation of Ellen Degeneres if she were a man to the nail in the coffin (or should I say – closet?) of a medical episode triggered by a blown kiss from Glinda – it’s a collection of hilarious anecdotes and absurd denial inside a lead-lined closet.
Phoebs feels familiar very quickly, a high-achieving, dramatic fan of musical theatre with deep female friendships and a heightening anxiety that her life isn’t progressing the same way as all her friends. The cabaret is hilarious, putting her bachelor of theatre to good use with tap-dancing, singing and, my personal highlight, audience participation with a full briefing on the character’s motivations. Phoebe Rodger’s performance is catchy and rib-tickling as she plays through her life story and the denial she lived through with a playful wink, always in on the joke with us.
Post-realisation, though, the show began to fall a little flat for me. There is a rich madness to Phoebs’ anecdotes. It’s a coming out story, the bones of which are no different to any other, but it’s her unique storytelling and the absurdity of her lived experiences that bring it together into a cabaret you can’t help but sing along to. Once the realisation hits, however, the cabaret begins to slow into a long epilogue. Multiple songs in quick succession with themes of protest and injustice, bringing the story into the current zeitgeist and reminding us that as far as we’ve come, we have not reached the queer utopia yet. While it is a lovely homage to the history and activism of the queer community – it is a jarring shift from a deeply personal series of anecdotes about an incredibly colourful character to a more general theme of protest and anger. I would love to see that last section woven into the story, as Phoebe Rodger’s storytelling is the highlight of the show and I wanted to see it carried through to the end of the cabaret.
Despite my gripes with the pacing of the back-half, this cabaret can only be described as a warm and witty perspective on heteronormativity, shedding light and light-heartedness on internalised homophobia and turning into a joyful celebration of self-realisation and queerness. It’ll have you singing and dancing your way out of the closet!
Recommended drink: a shot of vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice and lime – also known as a Wet Pussy shot – for no particular reason.
Performances of Phoebs, You’re a Lesbian have concluded at Feast Festival 2026.
Ben Powell
Nana Funk
Shay Mace
