July 2013 – Page 3 – Theatre Press

Dinner with the vampire is fabulous fare

By Bradley Storer

After an hour of sampling both the fine cocktails and served a delicious array of meals at Dracula’s Theatre Restaurant whilst being serenaded by a band of vampiric jazz artists, I settled into my seat for the main show – one could only hope it would match the hilarity of the floor show being provided by the dementedly jolly waiting staff!

Luckily I was not disappointed, and my expectations were even surpassed. After a quick introduction to our various performers for the evening, mixed with a stirring group rendition of Muse’s ‘Uprising’, Spiderlash: Vampire Vaudeville launched off with an opening worthy of a gothic rock opera that integrated multimedia to dizzyingly entertaining effect and set the bar high for the entire evening.

Spiderlash is truly vaudevillian in the traditional sense of the word. One minute we’re thrown a stand-up routine that harks back to a music-hall comedian, the next we’re treated to an arachnid-themed aerial routine before we were surprised with a scintillating drag performance (a cameo by effervescent drag performer Art Simone). Dancing skeletons, a garden of living statues, a magic act that leaves most of the performers in various states of impalement and dismemberment – all happen and we were left glowing with pleasure at the sheer breadth of variety. Throughout the evening the audience is deluged with campy good humour that is sure to delight anyone and everyone (though I advise leaving the children at home) with a few choice moments of seriousness that are all the more effective for their rarity. The production values and costume quality for the show are extremely high with technological fittings for nearly every section that makes you admire Dracula’s for their sheer dedication to providing excellent entertainment for their patrons.

All the performers are exceedingly talented, many doubling as musicians onstage and off, and provide a slick, confident experience, especially when interacting with the audience. Special mention to performer Philippa Harrison, whose strong vocals come to the fore in a simmering burlesque performance of Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’ (with a twist I won’t give away here) that held the audience spellbound for its entire duration.

VENUE: Dracula’s Theatre Restaurant, 100 Victoria St, Carlton VIC

DATES: Now playing

PRICE: VIP ‘A’ Reserve Tues–Thurs $105, Fri–Sat $115, ‘B’ Reserve Tues–Thurs $85, Fri–Sat $95

TIME: 6.30pm for ‘A’ Reserve, 7pm for ‘B’ Reserve

BOOKING: www.draculas.com.au , (03) 9347 3344

Contemporary quartet give voice to the modern musical

By Myron My

Ordinary Days is a nuanced look at four people living in New York, and explores how chance encounters with others – no matter how small – can affect one’s life in significant ways. This original indie musical, with music and lyrics by Adam Gwon and directed by Chris Parker, is a great choice as the debut show for Cheeky Theatre.

The four performers (Anna-Louise Hammar, Caitlin Penno, Craig Irons and Nicholas Renfree-Marks) are all highly talented singers and when their voices were combined they created some truly electrifying moments.

Hammar is perfectly cast as the somewhat aggressive Deb. Her comedy timing is spot on and more often than not, merely her facial expression had the audience in stitches. Irons was also strong and committed as Jason, for even when singing and letting the song take him over, he remained passionately in character.

There are a few songs though that seem to be simply “filler”, and don’t do anything except showcase the singers’ obvious talents. The songs that really deliver are those that deal with the characters’ emotions and assist in moving the story forward. The four singers really connect with those moments, especially Penno as Claire, when singing of the tragedy of a past love in the moving “I’ll Be Here”.

However, there were times where projection was not as loud as it should have been and key lyrics were sometimes drowned out by the piano. Having said that, the music played by Stephen McMahon during the 80-minute show is quite mesmerizing and really holds this whole production together.

Despite the New York setting, the set design by Adam ‘Gus’ Powers and costumes for me brought flashbacks of John Brack’s famous Australian painting Collins St, 5pm. Everything we see is in shades of black, white and gray. This effectively conveyed the idea that these people are lost in the humdrum crowd but are trying to find their own path. The projection of various images at the back of the stage as crafted by Barton Thomas was used well to add to the physical environments we were seeing, such as city skylines and a painting to portray the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Overall, Ordinary Days is a strong debut production for Cheeky Theatre and they should be congratulated for championing original musicals, and bringing something so different to Melbourne’s burgeoning theatre scene.

Venue: Revolt Productions, 12 Elizabeth Street Kensington

Season: Until 6 July | 8:00pm

Tickets: $33 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: http://revoltproductions.com