Category: Cabaret

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Jessamae St James is THE DUCHESS OF COOLSVILLE

Smooth, sultry and splendid

By Narelle Wood

Jessamae St James delivers a very cool performance in her show honouring the early jazz and blues hits from the ‘Duchess of Coolsville’ Rickie Lee Jones.

The Duchess of Coolsville

The set list, taken from Jones’ early years and her first two albums, are a mix of everything from sultry and sometimes haunting jazz to some upbeat blues with a story to tell. Interspersed between the songs St James takes us on a journey of Jones’ life. While these snippets highlight the influences her life had on her music, it’s also a glimpse into just how cool Jones’ was ‘living on the Jazz side of life’.

I found it a little disappointing that St James didn’t often introduce the song title, and it was hard to discern from the song itself, as in true jazz form there were no formulaic structures in verse, chorus verse style to help work it out. All this meant though was that I had to buy both albums in order to hear my new-found favourites. Prior to the show I knew very little about Rickie Lee Jones and I am now ever grateful to St James for the introduction to the talent of Jones.

St James herself epitomises cool in a very unaware kind of way. Her voice mellifluously glides over the notes and the brief moments of scatting were something you’d expect to hear from the jazz greats like Fitzgerald and Jones herself. Elizabeth Blackthorn provides the accompaniment on the piano, playing everything from a mean blues riff to soulful slow jazz.

The Duchess of Coolsville as almost an authentic New York Jazz club experience: the only things missing were a smoky haze and a bottle of whisky. This was certainly jazz at its coolest.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, CBD
Season: 26th and 30th November at 8pm, 27th, 28th and 29th November at 9pm
Tickets: Full $25| Conc $22
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Tomas Ford in THE FINAL CHASE

Killer cabaret

By Myron My

In Tomás Ford’s one-man cabaret thriller The Final Chase, we follow a secret agent as he attempts to find his missing girlfriend while simultaneously trying to track down his arch-nemesis. It proves to be a case that ends up fatal for one of the three as the audience is taken along this exhilarating ride.

The Final Chase

Clearly there can be no secret-agent show that isn’t slightly inspired by James Bond, but there is also a little witty bit of Maxwell Smart and possibly a sliver of Austin Powers stirred into this mix. However, Ford still creates a strong character in his flawed and troubled yet calculating agent who is damn good at what he does – killing people.

Throughout The Final Chase, you can see in Ford’s eyes that he is committed to the belief that all this is actually happening. When he’s acting, when he’s singing (and boy can he sing) and when he’s out in the audience, he doesn’t drop the persona or the reality of his world once.

On the surface, the songs performed by Ford serve to progress the story at the right pace and to lure us into this shady world. Go a little deeper and they also allow us to get into the mind of this secret agent as he teeters on the edge of a breakdown due to the burden of his job. There’s a running theme with all of Ford’s songs of how much more can he sacrifice before he loses everything?

I did have a minor quibble with the ending however. Whilst narrative-wise it was strong and suspenseful, the closing song felt unnecessarily long and lost some of the impact of what was transpiring. The final moments could have been more effective taking place on stage rather than the back of the venue with people having to crane and turn behind them to catch a glimpse of it.

All the other elements come together seamlessly to bring the story of an unbalanced secret agent to life. The Final Chase is funny, intriguing and sexy but more importantly, a damn well thought-out cabaret.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St, Melbourne

Season: Until 23 November | 6:00pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Festivals, Performances, Review

REVIEW: Fringe Festival’s MONSTER

Welcome to the darkness

By Myron My

Monster

With its low lighting and large spacious rooms where you can only just see to the other end of it if you squint and focus, Revolt is the perfect venue for Monster, a horror-cabaret that looks at perceptions that the transgender community constantly battle.

Created by Daniel Gough and Danielle Starkey, we are welcomed into the dark and into the home of Madam (also performed by Gough) as she regales us with stories of her life. What starts as light-hearted enough slowly but then suddenly becomes dark and intense as Madam gives us an insight into life as a transgender person.

The lighting and set design support this darkening mood, building on the intimacy of a topic like transgender and also creating a claustrophobic mood in Madam’s attic apartment. The three “rooms” on set, the lounge, bathroom and bedroom, are where people are traditionally most honest with themselves and cannot escape their truth and it is quite fitting that the bathroom is where the most emotive and haunting moments take place in Monster.

Gough tackles the complexities of a transgender person with impressive results. You almost forget that Gough is reciting lines and performing on stage as Madam, especially with his consistency on playing out her mannerisms and nervous habits. He builds a strong emotional connection with the audience and the boldness and courage present in the final moments feel like a combination of loathing and loving self-acceptance for Madam.

Monster is a brilliantly horrific piece of theatre that looks at transgender people and the conflicts and issues they face but doesn’t accuse or threaten: instead, it leaves you questioning and looking to your own moral compass for answers on who the actual “monster” is.

Monster was performed at Revolt as part of the 2014 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Cabaret, Circus, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Lumiere Acrobatics’ THE LOUNGE – A CIRCUS CABARET

Dazzling moments

By Myron My

Every Melbourne Fringe Festival, I try see as many circus acts as I can, due to the unique variety that appear. Presented by Lumiere Acrobatics, The Lounge – A Circus Cabaret is one of those circus shows with a difference in its infusion of – as its name would suggest – circus and cabaret.

Floating through the 1950-60s era, creative director Glenn Birchall entertains us with a group of highly talented individuals. As far as openings go, The Lounge is highly memorable with the ensemble involved, coming on and off stage with various short acts that whet our appetite for what’s to come. The acts are accompanied by a great blend of jazz music which further sets the ambience for the show.

The Lounge

Two “club hosts” egg each other on as they attempt to out-perform each other and win over the audience. Each act adds a progressive layer of awe and culminates in something unique and amazing: for example, the majestic ‘AeroSphere’, a glittering two-metre diameter mirror ball that opens in four petals like a flower. With Birchall having spent 70 hours gluing every piece of mirror onto the mechanism, it really is a sight to behold as the acrobatic act takes place on it.

The other highlights of the evening included the silks routine and the contortionism, both of which appeared to be done seamlessly and with much ease. I was completely enthralled by the same silks performer who also impressed with the ‘AeroSphere’ acrobatics.

As a circus and cabaret performance, there is a great blend of acts to amaze us as well as acts to purely entertain us. I do feel that there were just a few too many lengthy interludes and dance numbers but overall, The Lounge – A Circus Cabaret is a highly enjoyably circus experience.

Venue: Gasworks Arts Park, 21 Graham St, Albert Park

Season: Until 4 October | 6:30pm, Saturday 12.00pm

Tickets: $45 /$30 Conc

Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Hedger and Nicholson’s HOOK UP

Utter delight

By Myron My

15% were single, 15% were seeing someone and 70% were in a relationship – these were the audience statistics taken by Nick Hedger on the evening I attended his 2014 Fringe Festival show, Hook Up. It seemed fitting seeing as the show is a cabaret about relationships and what makes them work (or not work).

Hook Up

Written by Hedger and Ben Nicholson and performed on the piano by the talented Hedger, the diverse range of songs throughout Hook Up showcase the talent of these two men and it’s no surprise they won the Short + Sweet Fringe Development Award last year for this show. With the use of his magic piano and inspired by some real-life stories by friends, Hedger places four people in various relationship scenarios to see how they respond to their circumstances.

The four actors/singers, Michelle Brasier, Josh Ellwood, Vincent Milesi and Laura Johnston each have a brilliant stage presence. Every relationship they portray seems genuine and memorable, and considering they only have a few minutes within each scenario, this is no easy feat. They are able to display the humour and emotion that plays in every real relationship and the connection they have with each other when they’re singing is beautiful both to watch and to listen to as they blend together harmoniously (literally and figuratively).

Josh Ellwood’s fantastic song as a lonely nerd searching for his Pikachu is stuck firmly in my mind, and the homage to 90s video games was a great touch. Similarly, Milesi’s opening number had me in stitches and the duet between Brasier and Johnston and their word games therapy was great to watch.

I walked out of Hook Up grinning from ear to ear and it’s hard to believe this is the Hedger and Nicholson’s first show as a writing team. With its skillful lyrics, amazing voices and a script full of laughs, there is nothing to not like about this show.

Venue: Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne

Season: Until 26 September | 10:15pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au

Cabaret

REVIEW: Nice Productions Presents KING IN EXILE

Vaulting ambitions from young company

By Warwick Moffat

Nice Productions view themselves as a response to a banal entertainment scene. Their plays address the big issues and frequently contain low-level violence, sexual themes or profanity. They strive to offer different perspectives, with theatre that generates genuine feelings within the audience rather than merely entertains. In this sense, they are part of the absurdist theatre tradition. Their latest production King In Exile by Bradley Klendo seeks to provide that alternate view on the big issues of multiculturalism, racism and the tall-poppy syndrome.

King in Exile

In an attempt to express his frustration with a world full of prejudice and mediocrity, a playwright (Raj Joseph) falls into the chaos of his own rough draft as the divide between fiction, reality and dreams become blurred and then altogether disappear. His hero, an Intergalactic King (Thomas Kay) without a realm, is confronted by the Antagonist (Alex Rouse), three Shakespearean witches (Linda Zilinskas, Sarah Nathan-Truesdale, Gabriella Imrich), a sado-masochistic couple (Lisa Dallinger, Nicholas Politis) and a fellow migrant (Sahil Saluja).

Arguments, murderous threats and physical struggle abound; as do occasionally indulgent monologues. Amongst all this, there is a serious message worthy of telling but often lost in the hullabaloo. Many stories about racism place a halo around the victim, but King In Exile suggests some who complain about prejudice and mediocrity can themselves become guilty of a kind of elitism; an arrogant view that no-one can truly understand them. That is a very challenging idea with serious artistic depth.

The performances from the cast varied, but I suspect this was less a reflection on their talent and more on the difficult material. While lacklustre during some of the monologues, the stagecraft was often quite impressive when the play provided dramatic action to work with. Nicholas Politis gave a consistently strong performance in the tough role of an emotionally confused sexual submissive.

Fringe Festival is an opportunity for left-of-centre productions to get an airing, and this play is not out-of-place here. On a number of occasions, the director (Vlady T) achieved his aim of inciting audience response. In parts it was titillating, it sometimes surprised and amused.

The trick with absurdism is to both confront and engage. This is typically done by presenting absurd dialogue and action, but doing so with a storyline structure that is familiar enough to the audience. The true masters of surreal fiction can get away with having an absurd structure, but even they then accept the need to offer the audience familiar dialogue and action. This is an important trade-off. If your dialogue, action and structure is absurd you run the serious risk of losing your audience. With King In Exile, Nice Productions show promise, if they can master the rules before breaking them and embrace the theatre techniques that guide an audience through the absurdity.

Dates: Wed 24th to Sat 27th Sept
Time: 8pm
Location: The Clover Club, Gasworks Arts Park, 21 Graham St, Albert Park
Tickets: $26 Full, $21 Conc.
To book, visit melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/king-in-exile or call (03) 9660 9666 OR visit gasworks.org.au or call (03) 9699 3253.

Cabaret

REVIEW: Heath Ivey-Law in AWKWARD CONVERSATIONS WITH ANIMALS I’VE F*CKED

Surprising for all the right reasons

By Myron My

I will admit, the title of Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve Fucked was what drew my eye to this show, but this piece is so much more than just a show with a catchy and controversial title.

Written by award winning UK playwright Rob Hayes, we meet Bobby (Heath Ivey-Law) having various one-way conversations with five different sexual conquests, who all happen to be animals. Beginning with man’s best friend (of course), the monologues Ivey-Law delivers look at the fear and desires we have when faced with the notion of being alone or giving yourself over to someone, and also how far we can go or should go in being happy.

Awkward Conversations

James Dalton is skillful as director and despite the confines of the stage and set, manages to keep us entertained by the “action” with some carefully selected props. The way the animals are portrayed on stage is simple but clever and provides Ivey-Law something more to interact with whilst on stage.

Of course, much of the success for a one-man show ultimately rests on the shoulders of the actor. Can they pull this performance off? Can they get the audience to believe the words they are saying? Can they entertain us? Fortunately Ivey-Law is able to do all this and more. His execution of an awkward and unsure yet determined and strong Bobby in this wordy and barrier-pushing script is masterful and manages to create the right blend of comedy and tragedy.

When you take away the animal aspect, Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve Fucked is ultimately a show about wanting to connect with someone and how far we are willing to go and what we are willing to do to get there. Even though we’re only a few days into the Fringe Festival, I do feel that this is a show that people will continue to talk about after Fringe is over.

Venue: Upstairs at Errol’s, 69-71 Errol St, North Melbourne

Season: Until 26 September | Tues-Fri 10:30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $19 Conc

Bookings: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au

Cabaret

REVIEW: Speakeasy and MKA: Theatre of New Writing Present MKA: RICHARD II

Time doth waste him

By Narelle Wood

MKA: Richard II is a little hard to describe. Not being familiar with the Shakespearean work, it is a little hard to know how true to the original storyline this modern adaptation is. Regardless of accuracy, it is a highly entertaining and sometimes uncomfortable look at leadership.

Richard II

This tale of Richard II begins with 11 year-old Richard (Mark Wilson) and 10 year-old Henry (Olivia Monticciolo) already establishing their leadership rivalry, citing everything from age lineage and gender as reasons for their own superiority. Flash forward a few years, Richard is king and the bids for leadership takeovers, strip-teasers and political rants begin. Monticciolo is great, but there is something about Wilson that is hilarious.

Interspersed throughout the dialogue, which may be closely based on recent political events, there are excerpts from the Bard’s Richard II and what appears to be some ad-libbed political ranting. What Wilson and Monticciolo have created is a very funny link between Shakespeare’s world and the Australian world of politics; the parallels that are drawn are brilliant and the resulting commentary on leadership resonates as true.

The set is simple but effective, with a runway becoming the political platform whereby each leader assumes their position. It did seem a little long at times (it kept to the hour timeframe) but this was mostly during the Richard II soliloquies that remind you that Shakespeare, whilst brilliant, had some exceptionally verbose tendencies, especially when his characters are wallowing. The costumes were also really well done; Richard’s costume was amazing and certainly had all the embellishments one would expect from royal robes. It was interesting to see Wilson’s skill at putting on tights and Monticciolo’s ability to tastefully get changed while dancing to some good old-fashioned 80’s rock.

MKA: Richard II is a fun, but fairly intense show. It has certainly inspired me to read Shakespeare’s Richard II (and maybe a Henry or two). It would certainly be a good Fringe Festival choice for anyone interested in Shakespeare, politics or planning their own political upheaval.

Venue: Northcote Town Hall, 189 High St Northcote
Season: Saturday 20th September to Sunday 28th September, 9.30pm, Sundays 8.30pm
Tickets: Full $26| Conc $21
Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/ mka-richard-ii/

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Anya Anastasia in FEAR-EATER THEATRE

Promise of more…

By Myron My

In Anya Anastasia’s Fear-Eater Theatre, we are treated to a variety of songs and performances that have been inspired by various fairy tales or iconic figures.

Anastasia’s grand and glamorous entrance as Marie Antoinette was effective in grabbing our attention, but soon after the attention waned and unfortunately I found myself encountering less and less to enjoy about this show.

Fear Eater Theatre

Granted, this was a preview performance for this Melbourne season, and there were a few overt things that needed refinement, such as call cues and effective positioning of UV lights, but I must admit for me, the show itself failed to entertain on the level one would have expected.

The inclusion of guest dancer Briohny May not only felt completely out of context with what the rest of the show was about, but the three songs to which she danced felt like three too many. I found no charisma or charm in the performance personally, and was left puzzled as to why Anastasia has chosen to include the numbers in Fear-Eater Theatre.

Similarly, Anastasia’s performances appeared to be too focused on getting out the right moves, rather than enjoying herself on stage. Again however, I would like to put this down to preview-night nerves and an artist testing new routines.

Anastasia’s greatest strength lies in her songwriting; her ability to take an idea and spin it around until a different perspective is revealed is intriguing to witness. Her skill is evident and admirable in creating quirky and original songs.

I walked out of Fear-Eater Theatre not feeling I had been transported into an “extravagant fantasy realm” as stated in the show’s description, but that this was a performance that perhaps still needed more work and thought before being put on stage again.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St (entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Until 14 September | 9:00pm, Sunday 8:00pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $22 Conc

Bookings: http://www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Whats On

REVIEW: Drew Collet in TALES OF A USED CAR SALESMAN

Come along for the ride

By Narelle Wood

Tales of a Used Car Salesman is an interesting cabaret glimpse into the world of used car sales. But instead of the stereotypical dodgy dealings of the used car salesman, it’s the customers that come under scrutiny. Drew Collet tells his first hand account of his dealings with these customers through stories, songs and a little bit of psychoanalysis.

Tales of a Used Car Salesman

It’s clear from the outset that a used car salesman is privy to all sorts of details about his customer, and does much more for his customers than just sell cars. From stories about stalkers and employees with some interesting fetishes, to the lengths people will go to in order to get a discount, Collet seems to have seen it all and a whole lot more.

The songs are familiar, with numbers such as the aptly selected “Who’s Gonna Drive You Home” and parodies of “It Was a Very Good Year” and “Rocket Man”. Collet’s acting and musical background from VCA means that he can not only belt out a tune, but has the singing range that makes his musical numbers both entertaining and a pleasure to listen to as well. Sophie Weiss provides both musical direction and some fairly fancy accompaniment on the piano.

The show seemed to be over fairly quickly (it was about an hour), and I left wanting a few more stories about Collet’s quirky customers. While it was very entertaining there were a couple of the songs that only seemed to repeat the story being told; they were very enjoyable, but it did leave me curious about how Collet came to select his songs.

Tales of a Used Car Salesman is fun, quirky and thoroughly enjoyable. So if you like some good light-hearted comedy, or perhaps in need of a new used car, this show is worth checking out.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, off Little Collins Street
Season: Until Sunday 24th August, 8pm
Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com/show/tales-of-a-used-car-salesman