Category: Cabaret Review

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REVIEW: Porcelain Punch Travelling Medicine Show

Porcelain Punch: It’s the pick of the bunch

By Deborah Langley

The Butterfly Club has been transformed from quirky little cabaret venue into a big top for the Porcelain Punch Traveling Medicine Show being performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2011.

The show begins in the style of a silent movie before our performers take to the stage to announce our evening’s sponsor (all great shows must have a great sponsor, right?)

This show is sponsored by Porcelain Punch If you haven’t heard of it, you will by the end of the night!

I personally am sold on its medically proven abilities: why, it’s the creme del a creme of health tonics, god bless!

The evening is hosted by two exceptional performers, MC Lenny (Luke O’Connor) & Miss Ellie Mae Rose (Madeline Hudson) who keeps the audience in wonderment as the proof of the punch is explored through the experiences of those who get to try just a sip. 

Hudson is a standout as she sings and accompanies most tunes and performs with the most wickedly expressive face that suits the era to a tee (oops, I mean ‘punch’).

Other highlights have to include when our MCs were able to cure a man from the audience of… (What was it he had? Gangrene?) One sip of the tonic and he was dancing a jig in perfect health.

Audiences are enchanted by some great sideshow characters and their unique approach to the ridiculous.

The ensemble including Alexander Gellman, Emilie Minks, Christy Flaws and Kate Boston Smith bring farcical humor, unique circus skills, hilarious satire and just a touch of magic to the stage in a night of old school entertainment at its best.

True to form, the Porcelain Punch Traveling Medicine Show is a gang of misfits that roll into town to perform their tricks with great enthusiasm and humor.

A brilliant show which I recommend you all brave the cold nights to see, before they blow out of town again.

Dates: Tues 27 Sept – Sun 2nd Oct

Times: Tues, Weds, Sun at 8pm – Thurs, Fri, Sat at 9pm

Tickets:$27, $24 conc, $23 groups 8+

The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

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Review: ANA-LUCIA AND THE BARON (Episode One)

Bring on Episode Two!

By Bradley Storer

Lisa Nightingale returned with one final performance of her sell-out show, Ana-Lucia and the Baron: Episode One, previously seen at The Butterfly Club and brought back as part of the Butterfly @ Trades programme last night. Entering the stage to rapturous applause, Lisa began with an eerie Sondheim-style ode to her most treasured possessions: her precious diamonds (which Ana-Lucia repeatedly tells us she most certainly did not steal from the Baron!). From start to finish, the aptly-named Nightingale held the audience in the palm of her hand.

Playing the deliciously ditzy Frenchwoman Ana-Lucia, Nightingale is shamelessly entertaining in the best possible sense. Ana-Lucia is a saucy and cunning gold-digger in the mould of Lorelei Lee from Gentleman Prefer Blondes, a comparison highlighted by Ana-Lucia’s rendition of the classic ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’ (here hilariously chained onto Travie McCoy’s ‘Billionaire). Her dubious French origin later provides the basis for a side-splitting Edith Piaf send-up which skewers every French stereotype imaginable. The enormously self-dramatizing heroine returns home while recovering from amnesia brought about by a mysterious accident – in hot pursuit is the dreaded Baron, who may or may not be her former lover. Ana-Lucia is aided during her moments of lapse by her partner-in-crime, Juan Pablo (pianist Trevor Jones) who chimes in at the appropriate moment to trigger flashbacks and lost memories.

Nightingale is a strong singer, her voice ably handling a range of songs from Cole Porter to Lady Gaga. Jones proves an appealing comic partner to her brassy but forgetful persona. Nightingale’s occasional memory lapses (not all of them scripted, I think) were quickly integrated into the comic exchanges between the two players, actually making complete sense in the context of the amnesiac character.

The real strength of the show was Ana-Lucia’s interactions with the audience, cast as the guests at Ana-Lucia’s ‘welcome home’ party. Nightingale engaged the audience in treasure hunts, party games and sing-alongs to great comic effect. She even managed to make a running gag of the continuous stream of late-comers entering the show, who were then forced to come to the front of the stage to receive party bags and hats. With such a strong command of her audience, it’s no wonder this show has sold out three previous seasons.

However, this strength also becomes a weakness at points – beginning with a series of giggle-inducing plot twists, the story meanders towards the middle of the show as the emphasis shifts to audience participation. In particular the inclusion of a Beyonce number, however funny and charmingly performed, seems unnecessary and slows down the action.

This quickly changes towards the finale of the show, ending on a climatic cliff-hanger which promises interesting revelations for Episode Two.

Ana-Lucia and the Baron (Episode One)

The New Ballroom, Trades Hall

Thur Sept 29, 7:30pm

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REVIEW: TiaJuana and Her Depths of Despair

Musical melancholy but undeniable charm

By Anastasia Russell-Head

“Life is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel… Life is one damn thing after another!”

With these words, we are invited into the sad, lonely world of TiaJuana, accordion in hand, singing a mournful Portuguese song.

Together with her “support group” of community health care nurse (Mel Wishart on clarinet), employment case-worker (Pat Lyons on guitar), and counsellor (Andrew Rankin on upright bass), singer and accordionist Tia Wilson takes us through the gamut of despondent emotion.

All four performers are top-notch musicians, working with a gypsy-inspired mix of tango, Balkan, waltz, and Latino styles, and shifting effortlessly from Nick Cave-esque melancholy to the sinuous melodic shapes of the Middle-East.

The “obligatory drinking song” at the end was a highlight for me, with toe-tapping infectious rhythms and vocal harmonies.

Mention must also be made of the wonderfully desolate interpretation of Newton-John and Travolta’s “You’re the One that I Want”.

Less successful was the attempted thread of narrative connecting the musical items, which often felt slow-paced and lacklustre – the danger with theming a show around the concept of despair and depression, perhaps.

Wilson is clearly a seasoned and confident performer with an excellent sense of comic timing, and I would have liked to have seen more of this pizazz shine through the darkness more often.

For me, this performance was a tantalising musical journey, albeit somewhat lacking dramatically for the whole package to be truly effective.

This show definitely has potential, and just needs a few tweaks here and there. Here’s hoping for a second season! 

 

TiaJuana and Her Depths of Despair for the Melbourne Fringe festival 2011

VENUE:

The Butterfly Club

204 Bank St

South Melbourne

DATES:

24 – 25 Sept

TIME:

5.00pm Sat, 4.00pm Sun

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REVIEW: Emily Taylor and Scott Brennan in IS THIS YOUR LIFE?

Improvisation + cabaret = a great night of comedy!

By Kate Boston-Smith

As you walk into the ever-gorgeous and oh-so intimate space of The Butterfly Club’s showroom, there is electricity in the air. 

Already on stage, performers Emily Taylor and Scott Brennan with accompanist Gordon Dorin are primed and ready.  Such is the energy and connection between the three that Taylor and Brennan literally cannot stand in stillness. 

Stalking the stage like playful lion cubs ready to pounce, these highly skilled performers are itching to grab their audience, and lovingly get them involved in the piece.  And this they do with generosity, care and feather-in-the-ear tickling play. 

Obviously seasoned improv artists (Taylor and Brennan from Spontaneous Broadway, Dorin from Impro Melbourne), these three have an unspoken understanding and pitch-perfect musical intuition together.  

Their joint performances of spontaneous song and invented narrative come from the seamless interweaving of offers from audience conversations generated in the first ten minutes of the show. It is beautiful to observe how they listen to each other and us, and to see how they then develop the story on the spot. 

Their musicality is matched by their imagination and the audience travels with them as they paint very detailed imagery with their stories and songs.  Brennan, a crackerjack to watch, oozes character and wit. 

Dorin on piano is heavenly to listen to, and is so incredibly in synch with the other two performers that you would think each song has been rehearsed several times over.  The only time his eyes were not on the performers was when he dropped his head to laugh at the spontaneous hilarities happening on stage: always a delight to see!

Last, but by no means least, Emily Taylor performs with a constant twinkle in her eye.  With cool dexterity she switches between characters and unabashedly creates and explores the most absurd scenarios. 

In this instance, her adoption of a human-sized bunny moving through society is both ridiculous and incredible.  She is a fearless performer, and deserves the rewards the audience throw to her. 

Is This Your Life? is a great piece for those who love to see a little bit of themselves on stage.  These three performers are brilliant at their craft, and clearly enjoy what they do and achieve, making this show is a joy to watch. 

Date: Thurs 25 to Sun 28 August


Time: Thur – Sat at 9pm, Sun at 8pm 


Tickets: $22/$18

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com


Duration: 60 min approx

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REVIEW: N3rd Girl Versus The Zombie Apocalypse

The zombies are finally here!

by Kate Boston Smith

N3rd Girl Versus the Zombie Apocalypse is the debut performance for Jen Coles. Self-proclaimed nerd and zombie-flick lover Coles transforms the ever-gorgeous Butterfly Club showroom to an apocalypse-survival bunker where zombies are a very real and a literal threat. 

Taking the role as ‘leader’ Coles is fully equipped with facts, tips, instructions and imitation artillery….(very cute). 

For the zombie uninitiated (such as myself) she takes us through a thorough information session complete with song and group audience participation (beware the faint of heart!). The lengthy introduction to the world of zombie awakening soon gives way to some very clever songs about what to do and how to cope in these new surroundings.

Rowland Brache on piano is not only a gorgeous accompanist but brilliant co-actor.  The play between the pair is effortless and sweet.  You can tell that together they have had great fun devising these moments and one can only imagine the antics and hilarity that ensued during the rehearsal process.

On a side note, the performance felt like it lacked a certain urgency. Perhaps more fear in the character, more fuller electricity, is needed to really propel the zombie experience forward. That said, it was opening night and I am sure Coles will “feel the fire” of the brain-eating apocalypse as the season progresses. 

Coles’ songs grew and grew throughout the piece.  My favourite moment was her heart-warming and hilarious ballad of love to an unsuspecting audience member. This was on par to the grand finale, which was a romping good time in itself. There is nothing like a few surprises saved til the very end to leave your audience grinning with delight.

This is a cabaret for those who love their zombies, musicals and fantasy served on a cranium-platter….

Mmmm, brains!

 

N3rd Girl Versus the Zombie Apocalypse

Written and  performed by Jen Coles

Directed by Kim Edwards

Accompanied by Rowland Brache

Fri – Sat 7pm, 6pm Sunday

Tix $22/19/18 group

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

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REVIEW: Le Gateau Chocolat (UK)

His motto? “In drag, but not a drag!”

By Kim Edwards

On his opening night for this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival, UK cabaret sensation and star of La Clique Le Gateau Chocolat got a standing ovation from his wolf-whistling, foot-stamping and highly delighted audience.

Even the demure middle-aged lady to whom he had given the vigorous and pelvis-thrusting lap dance, the young guy who had earlier made the ‘wrong’ choice of dance over song, and the poor straight man he’d made joyous fun off in the front row were on their feet applauding until their hands were sore.

Melbourne announced emphatically that they loved this plump, pleasurable  and piquant performer, and with his grandiose voice and outlandish personality, there is certainly plenty in this performance to enjoy.

Le Gateau Chocolat is everything that’s fabulous about drag, but with his revealing one-piece lycra suit, his beard surmounted by spectacularly beautiful makeup and luscious lashes, and his rich and rumbling bass-baritone voice, this diva is not at all about female impersonation.

His performance, like his ridiculous and glorious wardrobe, is shameless in calling attention to anything and showing off everything. The show exploits all the classic cabaret diva cliches, and his relentless showtune song list is an exemplar of everything cabaret performers should normally avoid – but the wonderful charm of his outrageous character and the fabulous musical arrangements that showcase his beefy and beautiful baritone sound were triumphant crowd-pleasers.

Accompanied by an excellent pianist and cellist, and starring alongside his beloved costume rail Bruce and over-sized suitcases of lycra, Gateau is all dolled up to feed your showtune cabaret and sugary chocolate addictions.

Le Gateau Chocolat’s final solo show is tonight 23 July at 8.30pm in the Grand Hall of South Melbourne Town Hall, but you can also have your cake and hear him too tomorrow night for the festival’s Big Gay Cabaret Sunday Finale! See www.melbournecabaret.com for the details…

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Review: HEY WORLD, HERE I AM – The Streisand Story

Australian artist Avigail Herman celebrates our favourite Funny Girl

By Kate Boston-Smith

 There is no faulting Avigail Herman’s vocal ability and technique. A mainstay of Australian music and theatre, people are more likely to recognize her voice than her name, and it is with this exceptional voice and her tremendous talent that she channels Streisand into the room with us for this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival. 

Performing in a difficult space, Herman opens her heart through the songs of Barbra Streisand to her audience. Herman is a true professional in every sense of the word. This show is classic and sleek and Herman is as intelligent as she is talented. 

As the show title suggests, she tell stories of Streisand and her 40-year career while flawlessly covering her beloved and expansive body of music, including classics we all know and love to more obscure numbers that are playful and fun.

Lovers and fans of the stage and Hollywood diva will be on the edge of their seat as each song starts, and again when it finishes as there no knowing where Herman is going to take us next on this journey. The Streisand-uninitiated will enjoy learning about this incredible woman, all she has achieved and where she has come from. 

Songs are breath-taking and wonderfully recognizable.  At times I heard audience members singing along, tapping their feet and at one point, holding their beloveds in romantic embraces.

It was a beautiful show, and ideal for those wanting to be transported to a New York cabaret lounge for an hour of the wintery evening.

Performed by Avigail Herman and accompanied by Peter Bailey

Tonight and Sunday 24 July, 9.15pm


Tickets: $38 / $35


The Liber Room next to the South Melbourne Library (opposite Town Hall)

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REVIEW: The Tiger and Me, and The Nymphs

Speakeasy vagabonds and wartime songbirds

By Kim Edwards

Indie-pop meets wartime swing harmonies as The Tiger and Me, a stunning and atmospheric band of great vocalists and multi-instrumentalists, and The Nymphs, a female quartet with sensational harmonies and style, join forces for the Melbourne Cabaret Festival.

Merging the astonishing talents last night of artists Jane Hendry, Ade Vincent, Tobias Selkirk, Gerard Mason, Tim Keegan, Sarah Galdes, Clare Hendry, Rebekah Chapman and Kelly Day was beautifully slick and musically sophisticated as the groups both traded songs and joined together to perform swing, jazz, torch songs, and elegant indie reinterpretations of unexpected music from the last seventy years.

The atmosphere created was exactly right for a smoky and seductive speakeasy, with simple clever costuming, a wonderful variety of instruments and voices blending sensually, and some sleek and sultry standout numbers such as Brother Can You Spare a Dime and Bei Mir Bist Du Schon.

Unfortunately however, although the musicians and vocalists were wonderfully in tune, the structure of this performance was in severe discord. With all respect to the nice older gentleman in the tux at the podium who provided the incongruous history book readings between every song, the clunky and incongruous lecture-like introductions and overhead projections constantly and irrevocably broke the delicately-evoked mood, and undermined any chance for us to get lost in the musical eras explored.

Cabaret is about interactions not introductions, and integrating music and script in subtle and organic ways. With such talented performers, presenting this history of music as personal anecdotes perhaps by the costumed characters and singing to the crowded audience rather than looking over our heads would prevent the feeling of distancing and disruption that is familiar in concerts and gigs, but so alien to the cabaret genre.

These assembled ensemble of artists ready create spectactular music and atmosphere for cabaret. When their format and scripting builds rather than unsettles this in the future – they will be remarkable.

You can still catch The Tiger and me and The Nymphs tonight and tomorrow 23/24 July @ 6.45pm, though at $33 / $30, tickets are selling out fast.
Performances at The Incubator, Auspicious Arts, 228 Bank Street Sth Melbourne (next to the town hall)

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Review: THE BEST (AND WORST) of Queenie van de Zandt

A loveable and laughable performance

By Kate Boston-Smith

Queenie van de Zandt is a vocal powerhouse filled with warmth and goodwill who knows how to laugh, especially at herself.  Her 2011 Melbourne Cabaret Festival show The Best (and Worst) of Queenie van de Zandt is a fantastic stroll down memory lane. 

Though we, the audience, don’t know these memories firsthand, van de Zandt acknowledges her non-celebrity and celebrates it with gusto and humor using photos, promotional material and personal keepsakes.

With 22 years in the business she has a kaleidoscope of stories to share.  That said, this is not a show written to gloat or big-note (though she has the vocal strength do so should she wish). No, this is a story about her journey; her ups, downs, mistakes and ultimately her passion for singing and performing.  It is like she takes the audience by the hand into the living room for a cup of tea at an intimate family gathering, where she shares pictures, hilarious horror stories and laughter.

Van de Zandt is welcoming and generous, playful and cheeky.  Her song choice displays her incredible, self-taught, vocal ability. Her inspiring song choices include the likes of ABBA, Olivia Newton-John and Joni Mitchell to name a few. 

She commands the stage, yet allows for interaction, sharing the spotlight with her adoring audience.

As she playfully poked fun at her lack of notoriety, I couldn’t help but empathise.  Not knowing much about her before I walked into the show, I can honestly say I left feeling like an old-friend; such is the connection she has with us.

If you are looking for a beautiful, honest show about joy, heartache and renewal all told with warmth and humor then this is the cabaret for you.

Performed by Queenie van de Zandt with Lucy Bermingham accompanying.

Tonight & Sunday 24 July,  8.15pm

$40 / $37

The Incubator, Auspicious Arts,

228 Bank Street, South Melbourne

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REVIEW: Mark Jones and Geraldine Quinn sing SONGS FROM UNDER THE BED

Rediscovering great Australian music, cabaret-style

By Bradley Storer

At the beginning of the evening the two performers, Mark Jones and Geraldine Quinn, were casual as they walked onstage through the audience. They chatted excitedly to one another, briefly pausing to tease three eager audience members sitting in the front row. This atmosphere continued throughout the performance, Mark and Geraldine bantering playfully with one another (and a particularly talkative group near the front) between songs.

Their highly polished performances stood in stark contrast to their informal stage manner. The concept behind this show was to uncover and explore the treasures of Australian song-writing which have been hidden or lost, figuratively, ‘under the bed’. There were a broad range of songs chosen, from Paul Kelly, John Williamson to Claire Bowditch as well as a few originals thrown in.

Geraldine Quinn is a highly charismatic performer, with a large range and a powerful voice. Mark Jones was the perfect foil to her flamboyant stage presence, responding to Geraldine’s continual attempts to make good-hearted jibes at him with a cheekily deadpan expression. With their natural chemistry onstage, the two were a joy to watch.

There were many highpoints during the evening. The first was an exquisite duet of Paul Kelly’s ‘Deeper Water’ which actually brought tears to the eyes of this reviewer. Later there was a suite of Australian murder ballads (not Nick Cave, surprisingly) which related to specific geographical locations in Australia.

Beginning with a hilarious duet about the Snowtown murders, the two took turns with individual songs –  Mark sinisterly half-speaking, half-singing his section before seamlessly passing onto Geraldine who finished with an acoustic rendering of ‘Everything’s Turning to White’ which stunned with its simplicity and underplayed intensity. A surprising inclusion was a sprightly ode by Mick Thomas to the Australian sub-culture of the ‘Cave Clan’ – the concept of a real-life group of ‘subterranean Freemasons’ was unknown to me, and had apparently only been introduced to the performers when they discovered the song. Under the bed indeed!

While a fantastic night overall, a tighter focus needed to be present – sometimes the evening meandered as the performers took too long between songs to banter between themselves and the audience, and the show ended up going overtime and they were disappointingly forced to skip several songs to finish up. Other than this, it was an evening of amazing Australian music sung by two excellent performers which would be a great night for anyone (even those unfamiliar with a lot of Australian music).

Performances on  Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th July at 6:30pm

The Lamond Room, South Melbourne Town Hall

Tickets:  Full $35/ Concession $32 @ www.melbournecabaret.com