Sharp Knives and Sharper Wit: 'Zoe’s Killer Instinct' electrifies Melbourne’s Fringe Festival

If you didn’t think actresses would kill for fame… you’d be wrong. 

This year, Melbourne’s Fringe Festival showcases indie theatre performance ‘Zoe’s Killer Instinct’, urging audiences to reflect on Australian femicide and women pushed to the fringes.

Tucked away in an intimate corner of metropolitan Melbourne, the Motley Wherehaus is an unassuming venue electrified by theatre performances like ‘Zoe’s Killer Instinct’.

The venue invites audiences to experience Victoria’s diverse local arts scene. Cosy rooms throughout the space host theatre, comedy, dance, and visual arts performances.

The Motley Wherehaus, alongside 100 other venues across the CBD and regional Victoria, has set the stage for the return of Melbourne’s 44th Fringe Festival.

This October, the Melbourne Fringe Festival is supporting over 450 independent performances and artists to showcase their talent, passion and experimental artwork.

‘Zoe’s Killer Instinct’, among the myriad of local acts at the Fringe Festival, is a cabaret-style theatre show starring Australian actress Zoe Jensen. ‘Zoe’s Killer Instinct’ follows a timid actress's metamorphosis into a theatrical superstar.

The secret to her success lies in the confidence she gains from wielding an anthropomorphic bag of knives, as she uses them to murder men to take their inherent privilege. Each indiscriminate man she murders fuels both her power and fame, and the knives edge her on to keep killing.

Zoe’s sudden rise to stardom, fuelled by her ritualistic murders, slowly morphs into her choosing between what the bag of knives convinces her to do and what she believes about her own power and autonomy.

Actress Zoe Jensen said the show’s premise is inspired by her experience carrying a bag of kitchen knives to her apartment late at night, gifted to her by a friend.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so powerful in my life," Jensen said.

“I was not afraid of anyone approaching me; I had a whole lot of weapons no one would ever expect me to carry.”  

The experience made Jensen reflect on struggles she experienced within the theatre industry, and a normalised culture of femicide across Australia and internationally.

When scripting the show with her husband Michael McStay, they intended for Zoe’s gender-driven hardship to resonate with their audience.

Jensen said art plays an important role in political activism, where sharing a message that connects with audiences can spark conversations about social issues.

“It’s essentially holding up the mirror to society,” Jensen said. “I think that’s what we do as artists.”

“Even if it’s not a political piece, it’s a reflection of what you see in the world,” she said.

Jensen said that ‘Zoe’s Killer Instinct’ intends to address “frustration around living in a society where it’s accepted that women and children get murdered.”

She said that by spreading awareness, “we can start to come up with answers on how we can change this.”

Melbourne Fringe Festival CEO and Creative Director, Danny Delahunty, said the organisation prides itself on initiating Melbourne’s cultural conversation.

“Melbourne Fringe Festival is built on the foundation that anyone deserves a right to creative expression,” Delahunty said. 

“When culture is leading progress, we end up with a healthy, strong future.”

Delahunty encouraged Melburnians to be open-minded and to “see a show that you know nothing about, from an artist you’ve never heard of,” Delahunty said. 

“Ideally with a perspective that isn’t yours […] if you walk away knowing a little more about something, then you have grown as a person.”

The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an opportunity for audiences to experience artists on the fringes of the industry, with various performances running until Sunday, 18 October.

To explore The Melbourne Fringe Festival program and book tickets, visit https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/.