Category: Festivals

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On July 21, 2011July 21, 2011

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 21^st 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 July 21, 2011July 21, 2011

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 21^st 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 July 6, 2011July 12, 2011

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!

Cabaret, Events, Festivals, Musical Theatre, Performances June 5, 2011June 5, 2011

Starry Nights: ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL June 2011

The countdown is over as internationally-acclaimed cabaret blasts off in Adelaide!

Adelaide Cabaret Festival opens this week, as their fabulous iconic Amazonian queen of cabaret stands surrounded by stars and toasting the conquering of new worlds and the triumph of cabaret reaching universal audiences.

Although Adelaide Cabaret Festival has continued to make a place for itself at an international level, and to attract an exciting calibre of overseas artists, it is Australia’s own Olivia Newton-John is the headliner for this year’s program.

Another towering superwoman in the entertainment industry, Newton-John is offering a musical retrospective of her fabulous career, accompanied by the Adelaide Arts Orchestra.

Cabaret and music theatre fans will be perhaps even more thrilled to hear New York-cabaret king Michael Feinstein will be closing this year’s festival with the Australian premiere of the show created from his famous Sinatra project.

In addition, the legendary Chita Rivera will be here on our shores to share some glorious music and moments from her illustrious life on Broadway.

But perhaps the most exciting performances to watch out for are our own upcoming and established local talent.

Rhonda Burchmore, Simon Burke and Rachel Beck for example, are providing some entertaining showcases in music theatre and jazz.

But for the most innovative, edgy and enticing examples of what Australia is so uniquely exploring with the cabaret genre, don’t miss checking out the devasting talent of Paul Capsis, the sumptuous voice of Ali McGregor, and the sophisticated work of Robyn Archer for starters.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival runs from June 10-25 2011, and you can read about the stars, and book for all these shows and more on their website.

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Whats On April 23, 2011April 23, 2011

REVIEW: Sammy J and Randy in BIN NIGHT

A show about rubbish that’s anything but garbage!

By Jen Coles

Comedian Sammy J and puppet Randy (Heath McIvor) have unique style of comedy featuring music, sketches and generally unexplainable madness that is extremely successful in their latest comedy festival outing, Bin Night. It tells the story of the two attempting to catch a predator who has been putting rubbish in their bin, which, as Sammy J reminds us, is against council laws.

However tenuous the plot may be (I still question whether it has enough development to last an hour), you’ll quickly discover it’s not really necessary to analyse. The events that follow therein are just a vehicle for the team to banter and play for laughs, which they do extremely successfully.

They poked fun at being on hold for an hour (as they lock themselves out of their home, and the alarm system accuses them of being sex offenders), sing songs featuring various pieces of fruit, and of course, make fun of various members of the audience. Indeed, the more “serious” aspects of the show were still hilarious; Randy’s backstory of love and hardship featured in song was peppered by random facts about life from Sammy J (including those about Belinda Carlisle), and the ultimate denouement was still handled with frivolity.

The pair’s musical ability should also be highlighted. Sammy J’s piano (and keytar) multi-tasking skills held the more intimate numbers together well, and were a lovely contrast to the bigger production numbers. Indeed, it was nice to see Sammy emerge from behind the piano to dance and play with Randy; the pair’s chemistry and energy is outstanding.

It’s also a testament to the skill of the pair that the show was relaxed enough to cover spontaneous mistakes. The show was particularly off-one for them, and they covered it with professionalism and enjoyed the little mess- ups, which doesn’t often happen.

One note I would provide was regarding sound. Using stage microphones the pair were free to move and sing as needed, with the sound level up high enough to support their voices. However, because the show required so much energy (and occasionally yelling), I noticed their voices were tiring early and thought they should rely more on the excellent sound team they had at their disposal.

Bin Night was hilarious! I enjoyed myself immensely. Go see it… and don’t think too much.

2011 MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

VENUE: The Hi Fi (MOVED TO BIGGER VENUE TO MEET DEMAND)
TIME: 7pm (Sun 6pm)
DATES: 31 Mar – 24 April (excl Mon)

2011 SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL

VENUE: The Metro
TIME: 7:30pm
DATES: Sat 30th April & Sun 1st May

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Whats On April 23, 2011April 23, 2011

REVIEW: Eleni Avraam in TOXIC WASTE

Sex-a-holic beats the Choco-holics this Easter!

By Deborah Langley

This year the Easter Weekend has a spring in its step down in South Melbourne. Last night, despite the deserted streets and empty roads, a lively crowd was gathering at The Butterfly Club for the second night of Eleni Avraam’s Toxic Waste – A Love Story.

Inside the intimate space the audience were treated to the ultimate warm-up to any cabaret as the pianist Rowland Brache vamped some classic tunes arranged and played with toe-tapping warmth and style.

Once the show begins, we meet Betty – a yellow-haired, deluded queen, and self-proclaimed slapper.

This sex-a-holic allows for some entertaining material full of sex toys, not-so-subtle innuendos and some questionable judgment when she decides she doesn’t mind being the other woman – just not the other, other woman.

Avraam creates in Betty an annoying yet loveable character who works the audience with nervous delight, but it’s not until she introduces us to Marie, the wife, and the other side of this love story that Avraam truly shines.

Although at times these characters begin to blend and the lines blur, Avraam finds moment of stillness and honesty which are really magical.

For me, the show’s best moments come through the interaction between Avraam and her amazingly talented pianist.

With perfect timing, Avraam relishes these moments of personal interaction and Brache provides a solid yet silent creative and emotional support for this no-holds-barred cabaret.

Toxic Waste – A Love Story dares to explore relationships as they disillusion, disappoint and dissolve.

Based on pure fiction (or so we’re told), Toxic Waste is brutally poignant, viciously honest, disturbingly raw and witty as hell.

So, if you want a have good chuckle this Easter Weekend (without your family!), head down to the home of the Melbourne cabaret scene, The Butterfly Club, 7pm tonight (Saturday) or 6pm tomorrow (Sunday) for the last two nights of this fun one-woman cabaret show – with 2 women.

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Late Night Shows, Performances, Whats On April 17, 2011April 18, 2011

REVIEW: The Bad Boys of Music Theatre are A FINE BROMANCE

Classic, charismatic and campy good fun!

By Kim Edwards

There were tech problems, the show went up late, and a Sunday night crowd were initially unreceptive. But Andrew Strano and John Frankland ( in order of appearance, lads) worked their considerable charm and won over their audience with aplomb.

Think the Rat Pack meets Lano and Woodley. The Bad Boys are all about on-stage dynamic and the banter is brisk and boisterous. The show itself hinges on the hilarity and harmonics of their (denied) homoerotic relationship: it’s a testament to the lovability of the characters and their love/hate/show-tune chemistry that they even got some ‘aws’ among the laughs as they expounded the perils of bromantic guy love.

Strano’s loud lanky comedy is both cute and clownish. His pace is feverish and his energy frenetic, while Frankland plays the – er – straight man, offering a more subtle and natural comic timing and tone. Last night some glib patter drowned out key jokes with premature reactions, and a few bawdy jokes missed their mark, but it was obvious this was well-tuned material that any other night would chime resoundingly.

Accompanied by the ever-versatile Trevor Jones at the piano and some fun multimedia, the Bad Boys did wonderfully bad and witty things to music theatre lyrics (including their own original song Amazing which you can find on Itunes) and best yet, these guys can really sing. Great warmth of sound together, and their harmonies were lovely as a counterpoint to snappy self-conscious jokes and the tales of their rambunctious relationship.

It’s a familiar formula, but the Bad Boys of Music Theatre hit all the right notes in the classic two-hander cabaret comedy-style. With their brand of sleek slapstick humour and their musical bro-etry, it’s clear these two boys were simply and bromantically meant to be together. Catch them for their last week of their Melbourne International Comedy festival season!

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran
Dates: 31st March – 23rd April
Tickets: $25*, Tight Arse Tuesdays $17.50* (*plus transaction fee)
Times: 10:15pm, Sun & Mon 10pm
Bookings: (03) 8290 7000, www.chapeloffchapel.com.au

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Whats On April 7, 2011May 27, 2011

REVIEW: Sophie Walsh-Harrington is THE DAMSEL IN SHINING ARMOUR

An act of chivalry, bravery, comedy – and Celine Dion

By Kim Edwards

In all the best off-beat, edgy, witty and unlikely ways, The Damsel in Shining Armour is wonderful award-winning Fringe-esque comedy. Gagged and bound for her opening number, Sophie Walsh-Harrington promptly rescues herself from her bonds and her audience from their prosaic lives and sweeps us all into a modern musical melodrama with just the right amount of self-satire.

The great charm of the show is Walsh-Harrington herself, who enchants us with knightly tales of real-world romance where her laconic and satirical comic delivery is contrasted delightfully with outrageous physical humour, and punctuated with the reworked epic ballads of Celine Dion. Blessed with a rich and effortless voice, particularly in her lush lower register, our damsel fearlessly saves Celine from cabaret contempt with some clever musical arrangements and neat segues from story to lyrics.

The unique performance space of La Mama offered director Tom Dickins wonderful dramatic possibilities for unexpected direction and blocking, and beautiful Jen Kingwell is both an impressive musical ally and a lovely stage presence in the show.

Some of the show’s devices are more successful than others, and the narrative that has been so engaging and funny has a little trouble getting back up on the white steed after a particularly poignant moment, but the arch and over-arching charm of the performance is beguiling.

Ultimately, the show’s heroic skill at predicting and preventing cliches, drawing cleverly unconventional connections between anecdotes and songs, and Walsh-Harrington’s unwavering commitment to her material and character dub this damsel’s quest a triumphant knight’s entertainment.

The Damsel in Shining Armour won Best Cabaret for Adelaide Fringe 2011 and is now in Melbourne for the Comedy Festival.

Written and performed by Sophie Walsh-Harrington
Directed by Tom Dickins
Musical Director: Jennifer Kingwell
Tech and Lighting: Bec Etchell

La Mama Theatre, 205 Faraday St, Carlton
Wed April 6 – Sun April 17
Wed & Fri 6.30pm; Thurs & Sat 8.30pm, Suns 4.30pm
Duration: 60 mins approx.
Tickets: $25 / $15
Bookings: 9347 6142 / comedyfestival.com.au
For more information: www.lamama.com.au or http://sophiewalshharrington.com/

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Whats On March 31, 2011March 31, 2011

REVIEW: Analisa Bell in GOLD-DIGGER

Digging for festival gold in Melbourne, cabaret-style…

By Deborah Langley

After two sell-out seasons in Perth, cabaret starlet Analisa Bell has brought her cabaret spoof Gold-Digger to Melbourne for the International Comedy Festival. The intimate and wonderfully quirky Butterfly Club is the perfect setting for this show as we are welcomed at the door to Rosie’s house. But Rosie who?

Rosie Port-e-lou (the infamous wife of mining magnate, Sam Bankock – you with us yet?) makes a grand entrance with a robust version of Hey Big Spender, asking audience members, “How about a few laps?” with a politically incorrect and hilarious accent which guarantees all the laughs instead.

The first half of the show is dedicated solely to the life and times of Rosie as she moves from the Philippines to marry a millionaire in Western Australia. This is material which I’m sure gained much more interest in Perth than it will in Melbourne but Bell’s magical voice and terrible accent moved things along, albeit slowly.

It isn’t until Rosie storms out halfway through that this show really begins to shine. Audiences are in for a treat when she jumps back onto stage to teach us all how to catch a man and keep him as this seemingly standard cabaret turns into a twisted revue, complete with dancing pooches, audience interaction and free lollypops (to practice the sucky sucky!).

With some wonderful musical arrangements and interesting lyrical changes the music is the standout of this production. The awkward, but obviously talented accompanist Tim Cunniffe proves a weird straight-man to this surprising show which will leave you shaking your head but smiling at the same time.

Gold-Digger: The Shags to Riches of Australia’s Iron ‘ore is being performed as part of the Comedy Festival from March 31-April 3 at The Butterfly Club in South Melbourne. 7pm (6pm Sun) and bookings can be made online: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Whats On March 30, 2011March 30, 2011

REVIEW: Simon Taylor in PIECES OF MIND

“For a very funny show, you sure do learn a lot about human behavior…!”

by Christine Moffat

Simon Taylor’s new cabaret show Pieces of Mind is an entertaining combination of comedy, psychology and good old-fashioned showbiz mind-reading.

The show’s opening preview evening at The Butterfly Club for the Melbourne Comedy Festival enjoyed a full house, including a group of skeptics that had come along to check out both Taylor’s methods and his success rate. However, by the end of the evening, they were forced to admit he turned out to be 100% accurate!

Taylor’s performance style is a cross between stand-up comedian, psychologist and TV psychic. It’s a strange blend, but it works because Taylor is a charming and warm performer who engages and involves his audience from the very beginning as he explains his concept of putting together pieces of “the mind puzzle” with a little bit of help from us.

Taylor takes us through some basic social psychology such as conformity and lie theory, and breaks the concepts down without making it feel like he is spoon-feeding his audience. Moreover, an unexpected extra level is brought to the show when Taylor sneaks in a surprising subtext of tolerance and the universality of the human condition.

Oh, and did I mention he brings Sigmund Freud to the show?! As Taylor himself says, “I can’t sleep without him…”

If you’re now thinking, “See Pieces of Mind – Simon Taylor will surprise you, and he’ll impress you, and most of all, he’ll make you laugh” – then you read my mind!