Three powerhouse women, a catalogue of songs made famous by men, and one of Sydney’s most atmospheric little theatres. Les Femmes at The Grand Electric is an irresistible afternoon of nostalgia, glamour and seriously big voices.
There are some shows where the venue is simply somewhere to put the audience. And then there are shows that seem to have found exactly the room they were meant to inhabit.
Les Femmes belongs at The Grand Electric. This wonderfully theatrical venue on Cleveland Street, on the edge of Surry Hills and Redfern, already holds a special place in my affections after the fabulous La Ronde. Intimate, slightly decadent and just a little bit underground, The Grand Electric has the sort of atmosphere that makes you feel something exciting might happen before anyone has sung a note.
Then on walk Emma Mylott, Jacinta Gulisano and Tia Gigliotti, dressed in sleek cocktail black and ready to take on some of the biggest songs in popular music.
And I do mean big.
The premise of Les Femmes is deliciously simple: three powerful female vocalists reimagine songs and anthems made famous by male artists. Between them, Mylott, Gulisano and Gigliotti bring rock, pop and R&B sensibilities to the stage, with tight harmonies, attitude and the vocal firepower required to make these songs their own.
We are talking the kind of music that needs no introduction: songs associated with the likes of Prince, George Michael and Queen, alongside a wider repertoire that reaches through generations of great male performers.
You know them. You’ve probably sung them loudly in the car (or even at karaoke). And very quickly, you’ll be singing them here too.
Emma Mylott brings the rock-and-roll swagger. Bold, brassy and utterly assured, she has a strong, deeply sensual voice with plenty of grit and warmth beneath it. She attacks the big anthems with confidence, but there is also a smoky, seductive quality to her delivery that gives the songs real texture.
Mylott has the sort of presence that immediately pulls your eye on stage, and Sydney audiences will soon have another chance to see her at The Grand Electric when she appears in Blanc de Blanc.
Jacinta Gulisano is the soaring powerhouse of the trio. Her voice has extraordinary strength, but what impresses most is the accuracy and class with which she hits the big notes. There is never any sense of strain or showboating. Her polish comes from serious experience: Gulisano trained at Brent Street Studios, reached the final four of The X Factor Australia with Third D3gree, later made the Top 12 live finals of The Voice Australia, and toured Australia and New Zealand in Velvet Rewired alongside Marcia Hines. She is a true triple threat — singer, dancer and actor — and that confidence and professionalism are obvious the moment she takes the stage.
Tia Gigliotti brings a different energy again. Her voice is deeper, sultrier and sexier, with a rich R&B quality that sits beautifully against Mylott’s rock edge and Gulisano’s brighter, soaring power. There is a relaxed sensuality to her performance and a warmth that draws you in rather than simply blowing you away. And there was something especially memorable about seeing her perform while pregnant. Gigliotti is shortly stepping away from the trio to have her baby, making her presence in Les Femmes feel particularly special — and somehow perfectly in keeping with a show built around female strength.
Not surprisingly for a show celebrating powerful women, there are plenty of women in the audience. But there are also quite a few men, and everyone is of a certain vintage — old enough to know every chorus and young enough to be very happy getting up and rocking along to it.
The Grand Electric is certainly no Wembley Stadium, but for a couple of hours it could almost have been. These three women belt out the great anthems with powerhouse vocals, backed by a terrific sense of showmanship and a polished dance routine that keeps the energy flying.
What makes Les Femmes work, though, is that it isn’t karaoke and it isn’t impersonation. The women aren’t pretending to be the men who first made these songs famous. They’re claiming the material, rearranging it around female voices and having enormous fun in the process. There’s glamour, humour, sass and a little rebellion — but underneath all of that are three seriously impressive singers.
And perhaps that’s why an afternoon at Les Femmes feels so good. There is no complicated storyline to follow and no homework required. Just settle in, order a drink, recognise the opening bars and enjoy that little rush that comes when a song you love comes roaring back to life.
It is fabulous, joyful fun — and one of the best ways I can think of to spend an afternoon in Sydney.
What you need to know
When: Les Femmes has two remaining Sydney performances at The Grand Electric: Sunday, October 18 and Sunday, November 29. The show runs for approximately 120 minutes.
Tickets: Available through Fever, tickets begin at $59. Options include General Admission, VIP tickets including a glass of bubbles, and discounted GA group bundles for groups of six or more; pricing varies with the ticket selection and availability.
Where: The Grand Electric, 199 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills. It is about a seven-minute walk from Redfern Station or nine minutes from Central Station. The courtyard bar opens an hour before performances for drinks and snacks.
What else is on at The Grand Electric?
The current line-up includes La Ronde, Late Night Vice, Sing It! with Trevor Jones, Smashed – The Brunch Party and Club Flamingo. Blanc de Blanc: A Summer of Champagne, which promises a blend of world-class acrobatics, cabaret, comedy and champagne-fuelled glamour, opens on October 26, 2026.
Bookings & website: Tickets for Les Femmes are available through Fever, while the official The Grand Electric / Strut & Fret website has venue information, the complete What’s On program and booking links.
