Nine Sixteenth Review – Janet Jackson’s ‘Nipplegate’ scandal revealed | Section

TThe year is 2004 and the Super Bowl halftime show is about to begin. What later became known as “Nipplegate” – how Justin Timberlake after part of Janet Jackson’s bodice is ripped off, and her right breast is briefly exposed – it will be broadcast to 70,000 stadium viewers and more than 140 million TV viewers. This “clothing malfunction”, which lasts just nine minutes and a second, kept Jackson out of the mainstream music scene for years, making his career difficult as Timberlake continued to thrive.

Paula Varjack’s play questions how gender, race and age played into the game, and serves as a loud and proud love letter to Jackson and his music. Originally inspired by a 2019 trip to Glastonbury, where Varjack saw Jackson play and wondered why he had never played the festival before, the show highlights the injustices of the white, male-dominated and beloved music industry. Created with fellow organizers Pauline Mayers, Julienne Doko, Chia Phoenix and BSL actor Vinessa Brant, the result is a social media analysis that uses lip sync, killer dance, Cherie Gordon’s BSL look and puppets to make their case. Directed by Emily Aboud, the production explodes with a spirit of high speed.

But it paints a worrisome picture. In an interview with David Letterman, Jackson was constantly mocked for “Nipplegate” and wanted to move forward. In 2018, Timberlake was invited to return to the Super Bowl halftime with open arms. It’s a trend that continues: there are comments with headlines mocking Meghan Markle and Diane Abbott, as well as describing the abuse. Francesca Amewudah-Rivers received when he was cast opposite Tom Holland in the Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo and Juliet.

The third episode of the play, in which the actors openly talk about their fears in their lives, in the industry and beyond, is changing the public criticism compared to the first episodes. But everything remains strong, important theater.