Tag: The Butterfly Club

Festivals, Performances, Review

REVIEW: Isobel Marmion’s PEOPLE PISS IN HERE

Bathroom break theatre

By Myron My

Jo is suffering from a mental illnesses find herself unable to leave the bathroom at work. Is she having a heart attack or a panic-attack? She’s not quite sure. Her friend, Sam, also suffering from a mental illness, goes in to help her. Performed as part of the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Isobel Marmion’s People Piss In Here is an absurdist take on living with mental illness.

People Piss In Here

The issue of mental illness is explored honestly and sensitively but also humorously through the characters as they react and respond to the effects of their conditions. The fears and uncertainties expressed in Marmion’s script (written in consultation with individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses) about living a fulfilled life while battling mental health problems, is subtle and reflective.

However, the appearance of St. Dymphna the ‘Patron Saint of Mental Disorders’, while adding to the absurdity of the performance, detracts from the heart of the story as we are no longer dealing with the sympathetic dynamic of Jo and Sam, but moreso now with Jo’s reaction to having a Saint in the toilet with her and the exposition of St. Dymphna’s origin story.

Petra Elliott excels in her dual role of schizophrenic Sam and St. Dymphna, as both characters yearn for an “easier” life through very different means. Jessica McKerlie, as bipolar sufferer Jo, has admittedly the more challenging and demanding role in the show, but unfortunately she doesn’t quite succeed in a convincing portrayal. There are times where I felt emotional depth and conviction was not solidly present in the delivery of her lines or actions.

People Piss In Here is an honest look at how people who suffer from mental illness feel about themselves. While its execution isn’t as strong as it could be, it remains a thoughtful piece on mental illness, friendship and living life to its full potential. And always checking for toilet paper first.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Until 4 October | 10pm
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Cabaret, Festivals, Review

REVIEW: Nick Eynaud in A STAR IS BORED

Witty and winning cabaret

By Myron My

Nick Eynaud doesn’t just want to be famous. He wants to be rich, famous and powerful, the triple threat. His 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival cabaret show, A Star Is Bored, reveals the lengths he will go to in order to make his dream come true – so long as he doesn’t actually have to do anything to earn it. Thanks to reality TV, he might be able to make that happen.

A Star is Bored

Eynaud takes us on a journey of his life that begins with his wide-eyed WAAPA school days through to the harsh reality of living back home with his parents in Reservoir. Along the way, he informs us of his obsession with Netflix and more specifically, reality TV shows, including Masterchef, Real Housewives and Toddlers and Tiara  – the latter resulting in an incredibly hilarious audition tape that needs to be seen.

It would be difficult to choose any standout numbers in this show, as each song is brilliantly funny. However, Eynaud’s rendition of the Kate Bush classic “Wuthering Heights” as a Netflix ode and the location change to Reservoir in Hairspray‘s “Good Morning Baltimore” would be right up there. All song revisions are all cleverly written and are not only infused with a good dose of humour but also bring out Eynaud’s winning personality.

The use of mixed media is a welcome addition to the show, with the opening moments including Eynaud’s show reel of his “starring roles” in productions such as Wicked and Phantom of the Opera. The childhood photos shown throughout remind us that this person has a real history which made him all the more vulnerable and sympathetic on stage despite the jokey self-entitlement being projected.

A Star Is Bored is essentially Eynaud’s self-discovery that at some time, we all need to grow up, even just a little. You can still dream to be rich, famous and powerful but with a small dose of real ‘reality’ for sanity’s sake. A Star Is Bored is a great showcase of Eynaud’s own star qualities and a highly enjoyable hour of cabaret.

A Star Is Bored was performed at The Butterfly Club as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival on 23 -27 September.

Festivals, Late Night Shows, Performances

REVIEW: Elena Gabrielle Presents DIRRTY

Cheerfully unsanitary

By Myron My

From the opening act of the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival late-night variety show Dirrty, it is very clear that this is not going to be a regular type of variety show. To say anymore about what transpires would be to ruin the surprise that curator Elena Gabrielle has planned. The night itself involves a variety of performance artists invited by Gabrielle to celebrate all things sex and taboo in their own unique ways.

Dirrty

The condoms and lube are freely available and there is a lot of flesh – both male and female – on display. There are songs about the joys of protected sex and the answer to where exactly JonBenét Ramsey as been is revealed. It is indeed, a hedonistic night for all.

Gabrielle is unashamedly the heart, blood and tears (and possible other bodily functions) of this sexy show. All her acts are playful, engaging to watch, and most importantly, fun. Her own spin on “All That Jazz” and “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend” showcases her range of talents, including her impressive singing and her brilliant sense of humour. Gabrielle could front this show solely based on her own acts and it would be a standout for this festival.

However, this is promoted as a variety show and as such, the success of a production like this is based on its guest artists – and unfortunately on this night, I didn’t feel the other performances were as captivating or exciting to watch as Gabrielle’s. They were all nicely aligned with the “dirrty” theme for the evening and pushing the boundaries of “conservatism”, but apart from the admirable Ladybird Blue, the other artists didn’t have the same pulling power to drawn me in.

If you can handle the 11.30pm time slot, Dirrty is worth a look, if only to see Gabrielle strut her stuff. This is definitely a show where you can leave your inhibitions at the door and if you don’t, Gabrielle and guests will make sure they take them off you instead.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: 26 September, 1-3 October | 11.30pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Ashleigh Kreveld is FRANKLY WINEHOUSE

Resurrecting a remarkable artist

By Jessica Cornish

So I never had the chance to see the real Amy Winehouse perform in a world away from television or youtube, but Ashleigh Kreveld certainly gave it a great crack in recreating the experience for me. Fitted out with a cheeky British accent, gold hoops, painted eyeliner and of course the signature beehive and red lips, she lived delightfully up to the illusion of an intimate encounter with Ms. Winehouse.

Frankly Winehouse

Ashleigh’s portrayals of her iconic songs were distinctly impressive: she gave a solid performance throughout, and particularly shone vocally in the higher to mid-range numbers, such as the tricky variations on the jazz standard “Round Midnight”. With such competent vocal skill, I would have even been happy to see more numbers added to the mix. Moreover, Ashleigh’s acting and conviction particularly shone during her songs. The standout for the evening was her powerful rendition of “I Heard Love is Blind”, recounting a one nightstand Winehouse had whilst her troubled husband was in jail.

Ashleigh likewise captured the audience retelling tales of her character’s volatile and destructive relationship with hubby Blake, and how he introduced her to the world of A class drugs after their marriage. I think my favourite moments were when these real-life stories played out in the cabaret: when hearing these bits and pieces of her life, you can’t help but want save this girl from darker times to come…

That said, the dialogue became a little bit uncomfortable and didn’t always make clear sense at times: lines such as “(I dressed) more like a black Jewish man” may even have been authentic quotes, but were lost without context upon me and my friend. No doubt it comes with being an adoring over-protective fan of hers, however I couldn’t help feeling that overall the late Amy’s character was being slightly cheated. No-one could deny that she suffered from a myriad of disorders and issues, but of course there was more to this woman and performer than just addiction after addiction. It would have been nice to see more of her character development and history explored, and more light and shade found in the complexity of the famous Winehouse persona, rather than just focusing on her constant vices and woes.

However for me, this is one of the best Fringe shows currently going around: Frankly Winehouse was an entertaining hour well spent, and reminded me poignantly of how amazing Amy Winehouse was . Along with the impressive title performer, the space was used intelligently, the blocking was really effective, and the lighting design worked admirably for the intimate cabaret setting. And of course, it couldn’t have been an Amy Winehouse tribute night without those solid renditions of her more commercial hits such as “Rehab”, her well-known Zutton’s cover of “Valerie”, and the infamous “Fuck Me Pumps”. If you’re also an Amy fan, there’s still a couple nights to catch Frankly Winehouse in action at The Butterfly Club for the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Dates: Until Sun 27 Sept, 10pm

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, off Little Collins St (between Swanston & Elizabeth) in the Melbourne CBD.

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe

Cabaret, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Becky Lou’s SEEN & HEARD

Candid confessionals from amazing artists

By Myron My

Earlier this year, Becky Lou dazzled audiences with her debut solo show Shake, in which she recalled moments of her life that in some way, shape or form led her to a career in burlesque. It was a unique opportunity to hear her speak, as well as entertain us with a number of memorable burlesque acts. Presented as part of the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Lou’s Seen & Heard brings together a number of her favourite performers on stage to share with the audience some highly personal moments from their lives.

Seen And Heard

There is a rotation of six guest artists from a variety of performance backgrounds for Seen & Heard’s run and tonight’s line-up consists of drag queen Karen from Finance, burlesque performer Honey B. Goode and vaudevillian Clara Cupcakes. Tonight’s guests put on quite a show, including Karen from Finance’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You”, which had me in stitches and Hunter’s humourous depiction of what a stripper is actually thinking about when giving a lap dance.

However, it is when they begin sharing their intimate anecdotes that Seen & Heard really comes to life. While not all talks are polished and there’s a feeling of nervousness with some, the guests are sharing some highly personal moments with a roomful of strangers potentially for the first time, so this raw uncertainty is something that can be overlooked. Lou and her guests have always been seen and not heard, and to be more specific, not heard as themselves but as their character or persona. As Clara states, she’s rarely spoken in her real voice when dressed up in her make-up and costumes.

With a performer on the stage, there is always an admiration of such artists but embedded in the idea of us and them: the audience and the star. Becky Lou’s Seen & Heard reminds us that these people are just like us: in fact, they too wet themselves, they too flatulate and they too can have the most incredibly random sexual mishaps… It’s a way of connecting the performers candidly with their audiences, and it’s an entertaining and unique experience for both.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: Until 27 September | 10pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Impro, Musical Theatre, Review

REVIEW: Impromptunes Presents PUPPETS! THE MUSICAL

This puppet show for grown-ups will have you in stitches!

By Claire de Freitas

The idea of being entertained by cheeky singing puppets is not an entirely new concept (who can forget the Tony Award-winning puppet musical Avenue Q?) but the Impromptunes have taken the puppet musicals to a whole new level. There’s no script, there’s no score, there’s not even set characters. In this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, the Impromptunes are presenting Puppets! The Musical – a completely improvised musical with puppets!

Puppets! The Musical

Although the audience was small the night I attended, the troupe of five talented performers had energy in bucketloads. From the moment they came bouncing onto the stage, puppets in tow, I knew they were committed to their craft and we were in for a good night.

To prove that the musical is completely improvised each night, the audience was asked to provide its name. We were given three beats to think of a title and then asked to shout out our ideas in unison. The winning title this evening was ‘The Dangerous Egg.’

Without even taking a moment to brainstorm, the cast began to construct a song and talented pianist David Peake began to accompany them. As the song continued, the cast selected puppet friends from the back of the stage and began to create characters.

For many people (myself included) the idea of improvising a musical is pretty terrifying. I have so much respect for how swiftly and wittily the cast created the characters, scenes and songs, all the while operating puppets and syncing the words with the puppets’ mouths PERFECTLY!

As is often the case with improvisational shows, the story got pretty crazy very quickly. In short, ‘The Dangerous Egg’ ended-up being about a young man named Jeremy who joins the Navy to escape his dull farm life and is put on a mission to rescue the last remaining dinosaur egg from the Nazis. Yep, told you it got pretty crazy.

It’s a well-known rule of improvisational theatre that performers need to always say “yes” to each others’ offers and the Impromptunes in Puppets! The Musical are experts in this. It was amazing to watch how the performers communicated ideas with each other without speaking about them and followed each others’ leads.

If you want to see something funny and fresh for Melbourne Fringe Festival 2015, you don’t want to miss Puppets! The Musical.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Melbourne.
Season: Until 4th October | Wednesday – Sunday 7:00pm
Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Concession
Bookings: The Butterfly Club or Melbourne Fringe

Cabaret, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Cougar Morrison’s RAWWR!

Stunning vocals in which to lose yourself

By Myron My

New Orleans native Cougar Morrison debuts his cabaret show RAWWR! at this year’s Melbourne Fringe, in which he recounts stories of beauty, love, gender and modernity with some re-imagined classic songs.

Rawwr!

There is a huge variety to the songs and the styles in which Morrison performs them. While “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” has become a staple of the cabaret scene and generally not that exciting to watch or hear, Morrison’s rendition is perfectly suited to him and he manages to make it something quite personal and ultimately, his own.

However, the highlight of the evening is the mash-up of “Dream A Little Dream”, and “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics. It was an experience I’ve rarely had with cabaret where I was just enveloped by the performance and everything around me disappeared. The musical arrangement of this piece is expertly delivered and works perfectly with Morrison’s voice.

Between songs, Morrison shares some personal moments about his life in New Orleans, from his dead-beat boyfriend and the sense of loneliness once a relationship ends, to his developing self-acceptance.  Unfortunately, this is where I struggled to remain connected to the show. I found the humour in these anecdotes didn’t always quite hit the mark and their delivery was not always effective in creating the right mood for the song to follow. More time given to developing the comic style and pace of these narratives would put this aspect of the show on par with the extremely impressive voice talent Morrison possesses.

Morrison is supported on stage by two muscled back-up dancers whose costumes are just as revealing and androgynous as his. They subtly enhance Morrison’s own self-confessed “unusual appearance” and add a level of vulnerability and fragility to him.  The costume changes, including some brilliant hats, are fun, sexy and imaginative. While some of the choreography was not as smooth and fluid as it could be at this performance, the duo play the part of the sexy eye candy well.

Cougar Morrison’s RAWWR! is bound to warrant your attention with the artist’s strong stage presence and amazing voice that can take on any song. Ultimately RAWWR! Is an enjoyable Fringe 2015 show that deals with sexuality and contemporary life with a classic-songs twist.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: Until 20 September | 10pm

Tickets: $20 Full

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: James McLean’s BIG ENOUGH AND UGLY ENOUGH

Assorted anecdotes told with disarming charm

By Jessica Cornish

Big Enough and Ugly Enough follows James McLean’s move from the picturesque Adelaide Hills to the thriving metropolis of Melbourne. Armed with a collection of pieces of junk he dragged down in a box bestowed upon him by his dead grandmother (whose recounted voice somewhat reminded me of Aussie legend Dame Edna!), he tells us witty short stories of his encounters and misdeeds in his new life in Melbourne.

Big Enough and Ugly Enough

It seems that when you’re a newcomer to the streets of Melbourne you can easily fall into all sorts of adventures: fathering a feline, being robbed by men with a preoccupation with their navels, and landing a depressing job in the hospo industry. At least he could afford to live in an apartment alone near a tramline; being in a share house could have bought a whole other series of dramas.

James put on a great hour show: although initially starting out a little wooden and seemingly uncomfortable, he soon eased comfortably into the performance. His depiction of himself is played in a charming ‘no-frills’ way, and felt authentically like the same guy I might then encounter myself on a Melbournian street. Despite seeming a little flustered before starting at the piano, the few songs included were slick and strongly performed with well-articulated lyrics that even the oldies in the very back wooden pews could understand. Similarly his show was well-written and evidently well-rehearsed, as the smoothness of the audio cues and scene transitions relied on his carefully constructed script. I particularly enjoyed the sophisticated use of voice-overs, subtle light changes and multi-character personas adopted in each story snippet. All these elements combined to add more layers to the performance, and worked intelligently in keeping up the pace of the performance and engaging the audience throughout – a challenge which can sometimes prove difficult in one-man shows.

This show however was quirky, funny and charismatic, and his words painted pictures of some great characters you can find milling around the streets of Melbourne, and talked familiarly of iconic Melbourne hot spots such as Fitzroy and St Kilda. James is a loveable guy on stage, and you can’t help but be on his side throughout the whole night: in fact, even my male date for the evening managed to develop a bit of a crush…

Big Enough and Ugly Enough will be performed as part of the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival until September 13 at The Butterfly Club, in the prime time-slot of 8:30pm.

Tickets: https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/big-enough-and-ugly-enough

Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Dramatic Pause Presents DO YOU FEAR THE DARK?

Fearsome fables of the night

By Myron My

We’re all afraid of something: no use in denying that. Sometimes it can be irrational and other times it can be rational and justified. In Do You Fear The Dark? we are presented with two short stories by theatre company Dramatic Pause that looks at both of these kinds of fears. Written by Hayley Lawson-Smith, the stories both focus on a mother’s relationship with her children, but in two very different ways.

Do You Fear The Dark

In the first and stronger story of the pair, “Perhaps”, a mother (Victoria Haslam) worries about what’s become of her two runaway daughters. Her minds races through various scenarios, some of which are humorous, like joining the circus, while others are more dire, like being taken by a man under the ruse that he had lost his dog. Her dark thoughts are acted out on stage by Ariel Simone and Shae O’Reilly as her daughters and Zak Zavod as quite literally everyone else.

With the darkness surrounding it, the second story, “Tom Tat”, has more of a fairytale feel akin to what the Grimm brothers might have created. Here, Tom Tat (Zavod) comes to collect a debt from Pandora (Haslam). While she fights him, he is adamant he will have what he is owed: her daughter’s soul. It’s a fierce power struggle between the two as to who will be victorious, however, there were times when the dialogue became repetitious and lessened the intensity of the overall story. This was originally a 20-minute play, but having seen it in this longer form, I feel the story would probably benefit more as the shorter and tauter piece.

The cast of four is great and the individual performances are impressive, however it is Zavod that demands all of our attention. His multiple-character work in “Perhaps” is just brilliant and his ability to switch from one end of the spectrum to the other in seconds showcases the talent he possesses. He elicits an equal feeling of fun and dread from the audience in his roles and his scenes with Haslam in “Tom Tat” remained a joy to watch.

Accompanying the actors on stage is musician Natasha Broadstock playing the bassoon and various percussion instruments, which effectively builds on the suspense. Furthermore, the ethereal choreography throughout the pieces is used purposefully, and nicely enhances the fear and trepidation that the various characters feel.

Despite my issue with some of the dialogue in Tom Tat, Do You Fear The Dark? does a fine job in creating a macabre environment for its audience. While one story is an exploration of the human psyche and how our thoughts can overpower us and the second ponders the extent a mother will go to to protect her child, both stories will gradually draw you in to their darkness.

Do You Fear The Dark? was performed at The Butterfly Club between 2 – 6 September 2015.

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: The Butterfly Club Presents THE LAST FIVE QUEERS

Robert Brown re-imagining is all about the music

By Myron My

More and more you hear people saying, “It’s a small world”. Thanks to modern living, our lives are becoming intertwined in ever-more varied and surprising ways. In The Last Five Queers, book by Adam Noviello & Madi Lee and music by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, we meet five individuals who are all connected with each other in some way. In this song-cycle cabaret, their relationships are all pushed to the forefront as they tackle the high and lows of being in love with someone and trusting another enough to give yourself over to them.

The Last Five Queers

There were some incredibly strong musical performances in the show. Keagan Vaskess as the woman in love with her best friend was exceptional with her songs. What is even more impressive is the confidence and emotion on display, considering she was only brought in five days ago after the original performer became unwell. The scenes between gay couple, Henry Brett and Jack O’Riley were just as accomplished however. The belting out of memorable numbers ensured their duets and solos were by far the highlights of the show. Rounding out the cast were Tim Carney and Lee who, despite their strong effort, were unable to affect me as much as Vaskess, Brett and O’Riley did. Their projection was not as successful, and for me their vocal range didn’t reach the breadth of the other three

Playing his own arrangements of Brown’s music was musical director Barnaby Reiter. I’ve seen Reiter perform in a number of cabaret shows over the years and it’s always a pleasant surprise when he appears on stage. He really is one of Melbourne’s great musical talents, playing with finesse and skill and really creating moments on stage for not only the audience to experience, but also for the performers to occupy.

While the cast shone in their singing, the acting is where some cracks surfaced. There were several awkward vignettes between songs, due to dialogue that sounded trite and acting that felt unnatural. There was not much authenticity in the portrayals and it felt everyone was just going through the motions: there was the lack of intensity from a spontaneous kiss, the lack of chemistry between loving couples and the lack of familiarity between siblings and friends.

I could have happily enjoyed Vaskess, Brett and O’Riley singing all night, and listened to Reiter play the piano. However, I was there to see The Last Five Queers, and as a whole, the show required some fine-tuning. The writing needed to be more genuine and organic and the acting side of this cabaret needed stronger direction. It’s still an enjoyable show but I will remember The Last Five Queers as more of a quick fling than a long-lasting relationship.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Season: Until 9 August | Tue-Sat 8:30pm, Sunday 8:00pm

Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc

Bookings: The Butterfly Club