Category: Cabaret Review

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REVIEW: Izaak Lim Sings TOO MANY SONGS

Classic comedy that delivers

By Christine Moffat

Izaak Lim explores the songs, and more importantly, the bent of Tom Lehrer in this one-hour cabaret at the iconic Melbourne venue The Butterfly Club.

Many lovers of darkly comic cabaret will be familiar with one or two songs from Lehrer’s catalogue such as The Masochism Tango or Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, but in this show Lim also dusts off some under-loved gems and makes them sparkle again.

For those who don’t know Lehrer’s work, this show would be an excellent introduction to the skewed worldview of the comical, musical, mathematical genius who was a highly respected professor as well as a fabulously disrespectful human being.

Lim captures this second element especially well in his own performance, which is very faithful to Lehrer without going anywhere near an impersonation.  Lim is himself, and that self seems to be almost as dark, strange and hilarious as his ‘mentor’.

On opening night the room was small, intimate and warm, as was the mood created by Lim and his oh-so-accomplished accompanist Trevor Jones.  Lim’s performance was superb: his voice has a beautiful tone that echoes Lehrer’s own deceptively sweet-noted delivery of deliciously sour concepts.

It is a humorous format that is milked for all it’s worth by Lim and Jones.  They are in synch musically and their tetchy banter really keeps the ball rolling.  As a result, the show seemed much shorter than it was, even including our predestined ‘encore’.

When he performed, Lehrer was most often trapped behind a piano, relying only on facial expression and nuance to reach his audience.  By utilising Jones for the majority of the music (watch out for some sneaky accordion action) Lim has the benefit of embodying the songs with high-energy physical humour, an hilarious addition to the already funny songs.  More than once I found myself laughing a bit too loud, and I wasn’t alone.

In closing, I will simply say this about Too Many Songs: if you don’t like laughing, don’t go.

Dates: Saturday 25th July 7pm/ Sunday 26th July 6pm

Tickets: $23 Full, $20 Conc, $18 Group 8+

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

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Review: ANGELA HARDING is Just Like You… Only Different

The finest Australian cabaret has to offer

By Myron My

Angela Harding’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival show Just Like You… Only Different takes the audience on a journey of the highs and lows of being a performer in the arts as well as touching on some more personal moments of Harding’s.

If she talks long enough then surely we’ll have something in common, Harding muses before beginning her first number for the night. Using a combination of original songs and some famous covers, her charismatic and endearing personality thus quickly spreads through the audience until we are a roomful of smiles and laughs.

Along for the ride is musical director and accompanist Mathew Frank, whose piano arrangements are flawless and add another dimension to the well-known songs that Harding performs, such as Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and the sultry “At Last” by Etta James. The transitions between songs were smooth and well paced, giving us enough time to take in what we just heard and prepare us for the next brilliant tune.

Harding particularly shines with her original tunes, including the triple threat of being a “Singer, Actor, Dancer” whereupon she also takes to the piano. Seems to me Harding is more of a quadruple threat and should clearly add musician/song-writer to this list: “Silence” is a beautifully composed song and I don’t think anyone in the audience took a breath until that final note was sung.

The crowd almost brought the house down with their cheers as Harding sang her final number and I honestly have not heard an audience cheer like that for a very long time, except at sold-out large-scale music gigs.

Just Like You…Only Different is a joyous ride of Harding sharing her stories with her audience and no doubt deserves to be the winner of the 2011 Australian Cabaret Showcase. Keep an eye out for her future performances, for this lady belongs on stage.
 
Just Like You… Only Different was performed on the 20th – 21st July, 7:00pm at Chapel Off Chapel as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival 2012.

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Review: AUSTRALIAN HORROR STORY by Dirty Thieving Gypsies

Murder, music, mayhem and the macabre…

By Myron My

My initiation into the Melbourne Cabaret Festival began with Australian Horror Story: a dark musical journey starring Karin Muiznieks and Karlis Zaid as they trawl the backwaters of suburbia and equally horrify and amuse us through song and characterisation.

From the opening scene as three hooded and candlelit figures enter the stage, there is a dark and eerie ambiance in the room. The idea of blood and hell will invariably enter your mind with the minimal props being used being black or red.

This performance takes the banalities of sub-urbanity and turns it into something sinister – “Why do people with similar lives to us commit terrible crimes and acts of transgression?” Zaid asks.

From Jihads in Melton, parents competing to have the “better” child and a “relaxing” drive to Caroline Springs, we are introduced to strongly-defined characters created by Muiznieks and Zaid. There is great camaraderie between the two of them and the play off and against each other is a joy to watch.

Being a cabaret show, the music is an integral part of the production and it did not disappoint, with soft and happy tunes swiftly changing to dark and somber ones. The lighting was synced with the music for the most part, however there were times that the lighting prevented me from seeing the performers and while I understand it was to set the mood I found it more of an annoyance than anything else.

Hipster Killer ran the risk of stopping the melodic flow of the show as it was more of a poetry reading than song but judging from the applause, this was a crowd-favourite – including mine. And as soon as it was over, we returned to a song to bring us back to the macabre.

The real chilling horror of the show is the impression that this is all happening right now. Australian Horror Story speculates there is a man in a suburb somewhere putting on gloves and getting ready to murder someone, and it is this enduring thought that left me questioning how much I should be laughing. There definitely is some spooky shit going down in our home towns but thanks to this show, we can laugh about it a lot… nervously.

Australian Horror Story was performed on the 17th – 18th July, 8:30pm at Chapel Off Chapel as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival 2012.

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REVIEW: Geppetto’s AN END TO DREAMING

Fairytale flights of fancy and musical dexterity

By Dean Arcuri

My Melbourne Cabaret Festival experience began with decadent delight thanks to the musical stylings of  Emma Dean and Jake Diefenbach: two dynamic and talented performers who, when combined, become Geppetto – a fantastical pop fairytale duo that took me on an exotic vocal journey which enveloped and swallowed me whole.

Ten musical stories over five acts shaped the cabaret that was An End to Dreaming as Dean and Diefenback as a musical Hansel and Gretel journeyed through the woods, travelling from darkness to light.

The fantastical story elements were crafted into a simple yet effective framework, that was then quickly filled with powerful vocals and original songs complimenting and amplifying each performer’s range, skill and comfort.

While the stage and costuming elements should be enhanced to expand upon the musical vibrance, it doesn’t detract while the artists switch between their instruments including synth and baby grand effortlessly.  Balancing their performance along a crafted vocal tightrope, Geppetto juggle familiar chord structures and tempos that hark back to my 80s musical childhood while maintaining a modern theatrical energy that grounds the work very much in the now.

Dienfenbach’s disarming vulnerability is soon smashed away by a cheeky grin when displaying his immense talent on the baby grand. However, his vocals are not then surpassed, for even with up-tempo numbers he still sings with a heartfelt intensity that adeptly juxtaposes with the accompaniment.

Dean performs with a stoicism that amplifies her vocal power and control as she jumps the breadth of her range with an intense ease.  Just when you think she has hit the ceiling, she steps up a level with her musicality or theatricality in a way that had me transfixed.

Next stop for this dynamic duo is New York, but when they return to Melbourne you can just call me the Wicked Witch, because however long Geppetto are stuck in the woods by the close of the performance, I’ll continue to wish that they will never ever leave.

An End to Dreaming was performed on the 13th – 14th July, 10:30pm, at The Loft – Chapel off Chapel as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival 2012

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REVIEW: Xavier Toby is BINGE THINKING

Laid-back Aussie comedic charm

By Myron My

In Binge Thinking, Xavier Toby wants us to be able to laugh at the silly and stupid things in life as well as being able to discuss the bigger issues of modern time.

He attempts to do this by looking at the three things that one is not meant to talk about at dinner parties; politics, religion and money but interspersing it with random facts about dolphins, Delta Goodrem and Deal or No Deal.

The audience is invited to listen to Toby recount a dinner party experience he had with six friends and the issues that arose from that. Toby uses various types of alcohol to represent his six “friends”.  These include the “frangelico” lawyer, the “red and white wine” husband and wife and my personal favourite Sasha the “goon bag” bogan.

The results are quite effective and entertaining and neatly prevent what could have been very confusing for the audience in having to differentiate between seven characters.

For the most part Toby shares his story well, but there were a few moments of awkwardness or clumsy delivery of dialogue. This did however add to Toby’s appeal in being a typical, laid-back Aussie bloke though: someone we can all relate too.

Considering how small the stage is, it’s a shame that half of it was blocked off by an unused piano, thus preventing Toby from being even more animated and to give him some more room for his stage presence.

Toby seems genuinely most relaxed when conversing with his audience whilst drinking his bottle of Mountain Goat. However, if I had to use Tony’s game and compare him to an alcoholic beverage, I would choose a nice bottle of gin or perhaps a Bombay Sapphire. Cheers!

Date: June 21, 22, 23  7pm/24th  6pm

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Tickets: $23 / $18

Bookings: thebutterflyclub.com

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Review: KIM SMITH in Misfit

Dark, daring and divine

By Bradley Storer

Entering the Loft at Chapel off Chapel with his back to the audience, staring longingly into the spotlight overhead, Kim Smith instantly created a striking image of loneliness which befits a show with the title Misfit. From this apt starting point, the audience is taken on a dark journey through lost innocence, heart break and death.

Smith travelled through a wide range of material in English, German and French, with a focus on the works of Kurt Weill – the classic Weill numbers ‘Surabaya Johnny’, ‘My Ship’ and ‘Pirate Jenny’ all make an appearance, each word delivered with crisp delectation.

This dark sensibility is brought even to the lightest of moments –  after riffing on his experiences in his adopted home, America, and his own bloody history, an hilariously un-PC Peter Allen number about moving to Dixie is chained onto the signature Billie Holliday song ‘Strange Fruit’, culminating in a powerfully chilling rendition of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ which stunned the audience with its devastating subversion of the song’s hopeful sentiments.

Smith is a creature born from the Weimar cabaret tradition, with even contemporary songs delivered with a Germanic twist, laced with vulgarity and cynicism.

Smith himself is a sinister mix of Joel Grey circa Cabaret and the Cheshire Cat, a charmingly frightening figure with his own brand of subtle sexual charisma: truly the ‘misfit’ of the title. His voice is tightly controlled and wielded to maximum effect in every song he sings, and his banter with the audience left us all laughing hysterically.

My only criticism would be in the show’s penultimate song, The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ – while using contemporary songs in other contexts with hilarious results, this song is so far removed in both style and sentiment from the rest of Smith’s repertoire that it jars.

Other than this, Misfit is classic cabaret with an intense and charismatic star at its centre – don’t miss out!

 

Dates: 22 -24 June 7pm

Venue: Chapel off Chapel

Tickets: $40 Full, $35 Concession

Booking: www.chapeloffchapel.com.au

Phone: 03 8290 7000

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REVIEW: Sarah-Louise Young in CABARET WHORE

Lady is a vamp!

By Bradley Storer

The audience members were met at the door of the Loft at Chapel off Chapel by a flamboyantly friendly woman named Sammy Mavis Jnr., a country diva with a racy sense of humour, who happily helped seat people all the while introducing herself to everyone and chatting away like old friends.

Finally she took to the stage and welcomed us all to Cabaret Whore, before launching into Dolly Parton-style songs about her childhood sex-capades and her current career as a porn star. While understandably shocked, the audience laughed uproariously.

 British cabaret star Sarah-Louise Young brings five personas to life in this character-based cabaret. Aside from Sammy Mavis, the show includes a washed up wannabe West End diva, a Bjork-style Russian performance artist (allowing Young to show off her amazing range) and a dramatically masochistic French chanteuse.

Young has crafted incredibly individuated and distinct personalities for each character, and her remarkably versatile vocals allow her to glide from country to Broadway to French chanson worthy of Piaf with ease.

One of the highlights of this performance was watching the enthusiasm with which Young interacted with the audience members – not a member of the front row left unspoken to (or in one section, called upon to repair a microphone stand) but the warmth which she radiates at every moment makes this a joy.

Young is truly a star, with outstanding vocal and comedic abilities. At the end of the evening, Young emerged from behind her changing screen in only a dressing gown and charming self-deprecation before encoring with a number from her recent tenure in Fascinating Aida, reinforcing her sheer stage presence without trappings.

All this makes a show not to be missed, so see her before she leaves!

Dates: 22-24 June 9.00pm

Venue: Chapel off Chapel                                               

Tickets: $40 Full, $35 Concession

Booking: www.chapeloffchapel.com.au

Phone: 03 8290 7000

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Review: ZULEI KHAN in Triage!

Unlikely hospital comedy an hilarious success

By Meg Richardson

Hospital emergency department. Generally speaking, these three words don’t make you want to laugh, sing or even smile. And nurses? They don’t generally seem overly theatrical. However, this clinical setting is exactly where Zulei Khan feels most at home.

In her one-woman comedy cabaret, Khan, a registered division 1 triage nurse, takes the audience through the day-to-day lives and tribulations of those working in this challenging industry.

Traige! focuses on the emotional journey of Khan’s career. The audience is exposed to her outright honesty about the job that has engulfed her life. She addresses her frustration with self-diagnosing patients, addiction junkies and excessively arrogant doctors the best way she knows how- by belting out some big show tunes.

With a well-balanced mix of original numbers and re-worked classics, Khan’s voice is a joy to listen to. Her delivery of dialogue is, at times, a bit clumsy but somehow, this adds to the personality of the piece.

The intimate setting of The Butterfly Club also allows Khan to interact with the audience with great ease. She is not afraid to talk to them (or ask male members of the audience uncomfortable questions about certain ‘female’ medical instruments!).

The affinity she establishes with the audience very early in the show also allows her to really evoke emotions within them when she expresses some very personal challenges she has faced with a tear-jerking, delicate ballad.

Overall, Zulei Khan gives a laugh-out-loud insight into the only life she has ever known. This knowledge has allowed her to compile a show that is entirely entertaining from beginning to end.

Although she has made a successful career saving people’s lives, I only hope she continues to delight patients and audiences alike – Zulei Khan belongs on the stage.

If only every visit to the emergency room could be so entertaining.

Where: The Butterfly Club

When: Tuesday 19th – Sunday 24th June

Time: 8pm (Tue, Wed, Sun) 9pm (Thu, Fri, Sat)

Tickets: Adult $23, Concession $20, Groups (8 or more) $18

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Review: JO LOTH in Mind Games

Intense, evocative – and enlightening…

By Bradley Storer

To the straining sound of discordant guitar, a desperate woman trapped in material resembling a strait-jacket plunges through the performance space of The Butterfly Club. Before our eyes this lost soul escapes her confinement, and with the simple addition of a blonde wig transforms into the domineering Dr Jolene Mindtrick who guides us through the first steps on this journey – the mind plays tricks, she tells us, and we must learn to control it.

Performer Jo Loth, who emerges immediately after the appearance of Dr Mindtrick to speak directly to the audience, has crafted a confronting cabaret work based on her interviews with sufferers of mental illnesses like depression and bipolar disorder. It is also partly based on Loth’s own experiences, she openly admits at the beginning of the evening. 

A cavalcade of characters and their experiences and ways of coping with their disorders are introduced, each one explored in heart-breakingly realistic fashion through a variety of different original songs. The wide range of styles which appear, including opera, country and rap, seem particularly appropriate as different expressions of the broad spectrum of psychotic illness.

This is cabaret in its most intimate form, as Loth delves into the most and delicate aspects of the human psyche. Although the show remains, on the whole, light-hearted, it is not a show which elicits deep belly laughs from what it depicts: we are placed directly into the mindset of someone teetering close to the edge of complete breakdown or suicide. When Loth enacts parts of her own struggle with depression onstage, it feels like a precious gift is being given to the audience – we are not merely being told what it is like to suffer mental illness, but are being shown and made to experience this landscape of despair directly.

Loth is an incredibly skilled and committed performer, swapping between personas at a moment’s notice and bringing each character to life with rich physicality and a distinctive vocal quality. Her accompanist Damien Slingsby is a wonder, accompanying both on piano and electric guitar, expertly beat-boxing and even singing a song of his own which touches the heart with its simplicity and sincere emotion.

The reoccuring spectre of Dr Mindtrick, a symbol of the repression and denial which prevents sufferers from reaching out and seeking help for their pain, is a sharp and powerful reminder of the show’s primary message: the hidden and devastating pain of mental illness can only begin to heal if we acknowledge its existence. Mind Games, in bringing that message to light, is incredibly moving and ultimately uplifting.

Date: Thurs 7th to Sun 10th June
Time: Thurs to Sat at 7pm, Sun at 6pm
Ticket price:$23/$20 conc/$18 group

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

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REVIEW: Mike Tsama in RISE OF THE MEMPHIS CAT

Elvis is in the building!

By Christine Moffat

If you ever wondered what it was really like seeing Elvis Presley perform live way back when: before he was a star, before he went Hollywood, before the pills and the booze and the double-bacon-cheese-and-banana burgers, this show is your chance to find out! 

If you’re looking for that cool, truck-driving hunk of rough diamond that Sam Phillips and The Colonel were all shook up about, Mike Tsama is your man.  This 65-minute show takes you back to that time and that guy, with a faultless vocal performance by Tsama that manages to evoke a young Elvis without becoming a mere impersonation (a rare feat). 

Staged at the über-funky cabaret venue The Butterfly Club, the show is perhaps a little big for the room.  I believe this show calls for a big stage and a big, excited, Elvis-digging crowd.  That being said, if a smaller, more intimate (you know what I’m sayin’ Momma?) Elvis experience is what you’re after, this show at this venue is it. 

Although fewer costume changes and a couple less songs would have been preferable, if you go along for the ride this show will be a hell of a lot of fun for cats and kittens, so get clapping along early and you’ll have a ball.  As a concert experience, there is no real narrative or cabaret format, but this is not a kitch and cool outsiders’ show – it’s clearly for Elvis fans and soon-to-be Elvis fans of all ages. 

The combination of Tsama’s voice (which was pitch perfect) and his choice of some lesser-known songs as well as hits made me want to go home and play every Elvis song in my collection.  Oh, and if you’re craving a little extra special attention from The King, sit up and front and your wish might be granted…

Rise of the Memphis Cat

Written, produced & performed by: Mike Tsama

Featuring character voices: Steve McGrath, Meera Belle, David Watkins & Glen Schollum

Venue:  The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Times: 7pm Thurs/Fri/Sat, 6pm Sun

Dates: Thurs 24th to Sun 27th May

Ticket prices: $23 Full, $20 Conc, $18 Groups 8+

Booking Details: www.thebutterflyclub.com