Bold and bawdy, provocateur extraordinaire Moira Finucane has been turning heads with her fierce brand of variety for 30 years. To mark the auspicious occasion, she is back with a new offering, marking the reopening of Luna Park’s iconic Luna Palace. Think music – popular, mellow and operatic – dance and striptease. I speak of the erotic and the exotic, as the bubbles flow and the hot chips sizzle. The heaving crowd on opening night was certainly out for a good time and Finucane & Smith didn’t disappoint.
F & S are gender benders. They extolled diversity and non-binary performers long before those words became prominent in the mainstream. Seen by more than a million patrons, they have created 36 full-length shows, been to 19 countries and toured and love bombed 160 Australian towns. Along the way, they have also collected 21 awards, without a cent of ongoing funding. Quite some achievement, I am sure you would agree.
Dance Palace is a festival of fearless fun and just causes – a couple of hours of merriment and mirth, raucous and reflective, a cabaret of creativity. Think pub rock queens, burlesque sirens and torch song divas. From a Bollywood love god to a sequinned belly dancer, from avant-garde Japanese dance-theatre to First Nations’ evocations and razor-sharp art, it is all there.
The audacious Moira Finucane is front and centre. She kicks off proceedings by disrobing and telling us stories about her success selling F & S undies. Later, she returns to extol the virtues of the humble krill – yes, the small marine crustaceans. She delights with what she does with bunches of red balloons. And to close the show, she introduces a stunning original piece called Firey Velvet Flowers by elegant star Zita Deng.
One should never forget how talented “her” artistes are. Among those who intoxicate and bedazzle are diva Mama Alto, Butoh goddess Yumi Umiumare, Indian boylesque Govind Pillai and burlesque bombshell Maple Rose. Yorta Yorta Taungurung legend Glennys Briggs and country star Ian Muir entertain, along with chameleon showgirl Bendy Ben and soaring soprano Piera Dennerstein.
Bollywood enchantress Raksha Parsnani joins siren Mandeera, rock maestro Maude Davey, crooner Will Skarpona and outback songstress Kate Foster. Add cheeky Beloved Monkey and her friend Kathryn Niesche, along with skeleton painter Jacqui Stockdale. Throw in guitar virtuoso Dave Johnson and genius on keys Rachel Lewindon and you have the makings of something special.
Replete with no shortage of barely there and glittering costumes, sumptuous gowns, satin drapes and intimate, café style seating, the ambiance is electric. Two hours plus interval, it is a top night out for the broadminded. Dance Party is on at Luna Park’s Luna Palace until 12th September, 2026. For tickets, go to https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1582908
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Finucane & Smith’s Global Smash Club (Melbourne Fringe Festival) – theatre review
- Piper’s Playhouse (Crown Melbourne) – cabaret review
- POKÉLESQUE (GEEK OUT! Nerdlesque), at Theatre Works – theatre review
Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
