A PROVOCATIVE and timely piece of multimedia theatre examining one of pop culture’s most controversial moments is coming to Salisbury.

Nine Sixteenths will be performed at Salisbury Arts Centre on March 21 as part of an extensive UK tour, bringing its exploration of the fallout from the infamous Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” to local audiences.

The show takes its name from the nine sixteenths of a second in which Jackson’s breast was exposed during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show – a fleeting moment that had lasting consequences.

While Timberlake’s career continued to soar, Jackson’s stalled dramatically, a disparity the production places under sharp scrutiny.

Created by artist and theatre-maker Paula Varjack, Nine Sixteenths charts the rise, fall and resurgence of Jackson’s career while examining wider questions about race, gender and power in the media.

Paula Varjack.

It also reflects on coming of age in the 1990s and the profound influence Jackson had as a global pop icon, particularly for young Black women.

Described as “fast, fun multimedia theatre”, the production blends devised performance, dance and lip sync, transporting audiences into a world of stadium concerts, television studios and early-2000s pop culture.

Reviewers have praised it as “a fast, fun look at iconic black female role models” and “not to be missed… its authenticity and intimacy make it truly worth experiencing”.

Speaking about the inspiration behind the show, Varjack said: “Janet Jackson was a tremendous icon to me at a time when I had relatively few black female artists to look to. She was a game changer in so many ways – and did it on her terms.”

She added that after the Super Bowl incident, “the music industry let her down”, despite Jackson continuing to make music and films.

Directed by Emily Aboud, the production features a cast of four Black women aged 40-plus and includes British Sign Language as an integral part of every performance. Following its Salisbury date, the tour continues through to May, culminating in a run at London’s Brixton House.