Em Rusciano’s new live show, Addicted to Love, takes a sharp, funny and gloriously feral look at the stories women are taught about romance, desirability and being chosen, and what happens when we finally read the fine print.

Ahead of the show’s national tour, we spoke with Em about pop culture’s unhinged romantic curriculum, the radical act of choosing yourself, female “too muchness”, feral femininity and why protecting ambitious Australian live performance matters more than ever.