Month: July 2011

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: KARIN MUIZNIEKS’ Filthy Secrets

Risque, risky music theatre that’s both fresh and funny

By Kate Boston Smith

The rumors are true, Karin Muiznieks is one of Melbourne’s best musical theatre writer / composers, and Filthy Secrets is the perfect hot-breathed whisper to convey this exceptional talent. 

Unsure of what to expect when I took my seat, as the first song started my mouth curled into a half-moon and maintain that position for nigh on the next 55 minutes. Muiznieks and her team of talent have pieced together a jet stream of sketches that move from light-hearted over-bearing stage parents to more darker elements of sexual perversions in the society in which we all live. 

On stage with her are the flawless musical performers Cameron Thomas, Karlis Zaid, the ever-gorgeous Louise Joy McCrae and sibling/ fellow musician extraordinaire Emma Muiznieks. Together this ensemble produces choral completeness, jazzed-up jives and crooning tales of misunderstood woes. 

Interwoven into these delightful sounds are stories, tales and conversations which we all can relate to or comment on.  From sexually confused footballers and snooty Toorak housewives, to modern-day women with casual sex on the brain, no one is safe and nor should they be.  This is a show that explores and pokes fun at multiple facets of society with no-holds barred.

There was one sketch that was particularly risqué.  As my body squirmed in the “oh no” awkwardness of the sketches content, my head processed the intention behind this particular piece, a commentary on media outlets and the public’s obsession with celebrities.  This is a topic very fitting in today’s media climate in light of the controversy around the News of World phone-tapping scandal. 

Controversy aside, this is a show that is sleek, funny and setting the tone for modern musical theatre.  It is fast-moving to the point where you don’t notice time slipping beneath you, with performances that are strong and worthy of praise and applause they evoke. 

This is an ideal show both for those wanting to dabble in cabaret for the first time and for the more seasoned audience member: a perfect representation of fresh musical theatre with a dark, comedy bent.

Tonight Thurs 21 July at 7.15pm


$35 / $32, The Ballantyne Room, South Melbourne Town Hall

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Emily Taylor in HELLO YOU

This kamikaze cabaret is ambiguous, off-beat and excessively endearing

By Bradley Storer

Emily Taylor made her entrance wearing only high heels, a long coat and a confident smile. She wordlessly appraised each individual in the front row before presenting one particular lady with a bouquet of flowers. This opening managed to encapsulate the spirit of the entire show: intimate and mysterious as well as friendly and touching.

This ‘kamikaze cabaret’ mixes stories of childhood, family and heartbreak with dreamscapes, songs and improvised interactions with audience members to create a piece that bounces from topic to topic with child-like energy and enthusiasm.

The audience are treated like the inhabitants of Emily’s constantly shifting dream-world, changing from strangers to childhood friends without warning. They are kept constantly engaged through quirky games or the sentimental mementos Emily occasionally passes around for show-and-tell.

The rapid shifts in time and place can be disorienting, making it difficult at times to keep up with the flow of the story. However since the aim of the show appears to be to depict the fluctuating terrains of memory and dream, this ambiguity actually makes sense in context. The effective lighting design helps to minimize the confusion and creates a unique space for each territory encountered.

Emily Taylor is utterly charming, her bright open face instantly endearing her to the audience. Her enormous energy and commitment, combined with some ingenious and creative staging, turn what could have been clichéd material into something unique and hilarious (my particular favourite was the subtly filthy trampoline gag). Emily skilfully handles improvisation with the audience, constructing stories about the lives of the audience members which she then blends seamlessly into her final monologue. Her accompanist Quinn Stacpoole provides responsive and illustrative backdrops against which Emily’s tales and dreams play out.

The sombre finale of the show gathers up the fragments of all that has come before into a series of interconnecting monologues, weaving together haunting images of death, aging and loneliness. All these subjects appear, albeit hidden, in the stories throughout the show and provide a surprisingly appropriate conclusion to this seemingly light-hearted piece.

The final performance of Hello You is at 6:45 on Thursday 21st July, at the Auspicious Arts Incubator, 228 Bank St, South Melbourne as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival.

Ticket prices: $33 Full/ $30 Concession

Tickets can be booked online at MelbourneCabaret.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: ANNE EDMONDS in Ever Since the Dawn of Anne

A side-splitting night of songs, sin, Maccas mayhem and banjo-playing

By Maxine Montgomery

In Ever Since the Dawn of Anne, Anne Edmonds attempts to cover everything she’s ever done wrong. Before the show, I noticed on three sticks (or are they canes?) in a cylindrical vessel on the stage. In the front row, a fellow audience member gestured towards the stage and was heard to say, “She’s evil”. Were we all about to receive a good beating?

What the audience did receive was a highlights tour through Anne’s various crimes and misdemeanours – cigarettes, beer, vodka, hangover recovery, desperate attempts to get a man’s interest, driving disasters and more. Opening the show with an original title track, Anne immediately had the audience on side.

It would be hard to conceive of a person who would not be drawn in by Anne singing the line “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned” – a line she follows up with an inane yet winning smile. It was a fabulous through-line to the show to hear this main theme on piano as a recurring bookend to each new story.

Following the opening song, Anne walked us through two long stories of wrong doings from early in her life. Some performers attempting extended sections of dialogue that aren’t broken up by songs may struggle to keep an audience engaged, but Anne’s inimitable delivery – the right mix of charm & self-deprecation – had me totally absorbed, and fascinated to see what was going to be the next thing to come out of her mouth.

My favourite moment in the show was Anne announcing that the next confession to be so shocking that it had to be told in song – a morning-after-the-night-before trip to the local Maccas drive-thru which ended in the most horrifyingly expensive scenario imaginable! I have to say I laughed till I cried.

Anne’s partner-in-crime is her accompanist, Amy Bennett. Amy’s piano expertise is most evident, and it was wonderful to see their collaboration, with Amy so competently providing harmony vocals to Anne’s melodies.

For a highly amusing evening with this pelvis-thrusting, banjo-playing troublemaker, get along to Anne’s second and final show tonight for the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Thursday July 21st at 6:30pm in the Lamond Room, South Melbourne Town Hall. Tickets available at melbournecabaret.com or by calling 1300 640 801, or visit the festival box office located outside the South Melbourne Town Hall.

Cabaret, Events, Festivals, Late Night Shows, Performances, Whats On

MELBOURNE CABARET FESTIVAL 2011: Ticket Sales Are Booming!

100 performers, 78 performances, 7 venues – and only 6 nights!

It’s now only a few days until the non-stop cabaret begins, and all 32 shows for the second annual Melbourne Cabaret Festival (Tue July 19- Sun 24) are selling out once again.

This year’s program includes a particularly impressive line-up of our own Melbourne favourites, renowned national artists, and some surprise international performers all coming together to historic South Melbourne for one week of outstanding and outrageous entertainment.

From the fun and frivolity with comedy cabaret, music theatre, vaudeville and New-York-style, to the clever and edgy explorations of vaudeville, burlesque, queer shows and dark cabaret, there’s something different, delightful, delicious and decadent for every taste.

So what’s our pick of the fest? Got to admit, we’re pretty excited about The Beautiful Losers back to horrify audiences with song and satire, the intriguing Filthy Secrets from the disturbing mind of Karin Muiznieks, and the triumphant festival return of the glamorous and glorious Petticoat Soiree.

Also worth watching out for will be Le Gateau Chocolat, Queenie Van de Zandt, Jon Jackson, Emma Dean, The Jane Austen Argument, Tina Del Twist, Dolly Diamond, and Emma Clair Ford, along with a host of upcoming cabaret stars, plenty of quirky, creepy or hilarious new shows, and some special events such as Trevor Jones’ Piano Bar and the best of Short+Sweet Cabaret.

Tickets start from just $15 at www.melbournecabaret.com where you can also find all the show details to pique your patronage, because with only six days to see the all best cabaret in town, you’ll need to book fast!