In Paula Varjack’s multimedia performance Nine Sixteenths, the title refers to the precise duration – a mere 0.56 seconds – that Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Yet, as Varjack and her ensemble of four, equally amazing, Black female performers over forty demonstrate, those few frames of video triggered a seismic shift in the cultural landscape, effectively derailing the career of a pop deity while leaving her white male counterpart, Justin Timberlake, 23 at the time, thriving. Through a vibrant mix of devised theatre, dance, and verbatim lip-syncing, Nine Sixteenths functions as both a nostalgic love letter to a fallen idol and a sharp-toothed critique of the ‘pale, stale, and male’ power structures that police Black female bodies.
The performance is structured in three distinct acts: The Malfunction, The Aftermath, and Reclamation. The ensemble, consisting of Varjack, Pauline Mayers, Julienne Doko, Chia Phoenix and Endy McKay, uses the ‘Nipplegate’ 2004 incident not merely as a historical footnote, but as a lens through which to view the broader commodification and subsequent ‘blackballing’ of Black women.
The story, and subsequent social critique, begins with Varjack being an obsessed Janet Jackson fan in the 90s when she was 15 years old. She felt powerful as she felt represented. It was a time of MTV, amazing music videos, fun with friends and of course before the internet and social media. Varjack is the commentator of her own life growing up as she takes us through the impact of Black women representation, but how the 2024 Super Bowl incident did actually change the world in ways which many of us do not realise.
Not only is it nostalgic, engrossing, entertaining and funny, it shines the light on how black and middle aged women are treated by the media and why Janet Jackson, at the hight of her career, seemed to disappear: Her music was blacklisted, her 2004 Grammy Awards invitation revoked and plans for Jackson to star in a Hollywood film were abandoned. Conversely Timberlake was welcomed at the Grammy’s and suffered little negative backlash.
One of the show’s most effective sequences involves a fantastic verbatim lip-sync of a 2004 interview between Jackson and David Letterman. As the performers channel Letterman’s persistent, leering interrogations against Jackson’s visible discomfort and attempts to pivot to her music, the production highlights the “outrage-and-titillation” loop that the media used to humiliate her. The irony is laid bare: while CBS and Viacom blacklisted Jackson’s music, the burgeoning platform YouTube found its initial footing as the primary destination for users desperate to re-watch the ‘wardrobe malfunction.’
By casting only Black women over forty, Varjack also creates a narrative about visibility. The performers reflect on their own ‘hopes and dreams’ and the frustration of being labelled ‘emerging artists’ in an industry that prizes youth and often discards Black women once they reach a certain maturity.
The integration of British Sign Language (BSL) as a core part of the performance further reinforces the show’s commitment to accessibility and inclusive representation.
Nine Sixteenths is less a biography of Janet Jackson and more a forensic examination of the ‘currency of attention.’ It asks who profits from a woman’s humiliation and who decides when a legacy is ‘over.’
By the final act, the ‘malfunction’ is reframed not as a point of shame, but as a catalyst for a necessary conversation about who truly controls the narrative in mainstream pop culture.
Although the seemingly heavy themes, this performance by these amazing women is thoroughly entertaining and completely engrossing. I was gripped all the way through and loved it.
For more information about Paula Varjack click here.
For more information about Colchester Arts Centre click here.
Main photo by Christa Holka – the rest are clearly by my hand!