Abbie Chatfield’s latest suite of live shows is called the Trauma Dump Tour for a good reason – the name is surprisingly literal. After a rambunctious opening performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under runner-up Art Simone singing the Angels’ classic ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ (prompting the obligatory audience response of “no way, get fucked, fuck off”), things get more serious, and fast.
Chatfield begins the show with quite the content warning, a process she repeats throughout the night, before taking a deep breath and sharing some capital ‘V’ vulnerable stories that many of her friends don’t even know. This is not the same version of Ms Chatfield we saw at last year’s A Hot Night tour, but that’s definitely not a bad thing.
Instead, what we see from Chatfield’s live tour 2.0 is a recount of her life so far peppered with stories of the various “trauma inflictors” she’s encountered in her dating life… and boy, do these anonymous men live up to the label. From being dumped on a rock in South Africa as part of The Bachelor, to a frankly scary movie-worthy experience during her hospo era, Chatfield sure has been through it. Who would have thought it would all end up being repurposed as a bonding experience for thousands of people across the country?
Many Australians (myself included) have a parasocial relationship with Chatfield, and she knows it. She dances onto the Palais Theatre stage blurting “I have so much to tell you!” as if we’re all her besties on FaceTime. Despite the huge room, we were eating up the intimate energy.
Chatfield encourages the audience to text her during the show with questions, in case there are any gaps in her stories. She says they’re so outlandish that she has to keep convincing herself they really happened. But from the sounds of it, most of us are just texting to say we love her, especially when things take a darker turn.
Matt Agnew (the former bachelor who dumped her on the aforementioned rock) is sitting a few rows in front of me, much to Chatfield’s surprise and delight. He too chimes in with supportive cheers at opportune moments. It’s clear that Chatfield knows her audience and she has us totally in thrall. In fact, when she apologises for running overtime, several people scream for her to keep going.
As I head to the bathroom halfway through I pass women crying tears both happy and sad with their friends, with phrases like “she’s so relatable” and “I just love her” echoing around the expansive foyer.
The Trauma Dump Tour is an emotional rollercoaster for Chatfield and her fans alike, but it’s safe to say we’re all glad we jumped onboard. Chatfield’s stories are an important reminder that even though women often encounter more frogs than princes, there will always be the promise of joy around the corner. After all, as the queen of over-sharing herself says, she “sold out the fucking Palais!”.