Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett (Queen Victoria Market) – theatre review
Risqué and ribald, the R-rated treat that is Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett features an astounding cavalcade of talent. Provocative costuming, sexual tension, bawdy humour, original music and death-defying feats of strength, dexterity and precision are the order of the day. Aerial skills, pole dancing and fire eating are hot on the menu, as is hilarious audience interaction. There is not a single down moment. All acts sizzle in one of the finest displays of artistic bite I have had the good fortune to witness. A knockout winner, as long as you are broad minded, I can’t recommend Club Kabarett any more highly.
It starts with the appearance of the self-described mistress of mayhem Bernie Dieter and her powerful and silky vocals accompanying a talented four-piece band. Her job is to stir up trouble and get the crowd onside, which she does in a heartbeat. Laughter abounds. In a brilliant display of balance and control, Adam Malone, wearing very little, commands our attention with what he is able to do with up to six silver hula hoops. We watch the sparks fly courtesy of a power tool taken to a chastity belt on Jacqueline Furey.
A lewd photo sent on social media gets a dressing down. A single ring above the stage is putty in the hands of long-limbed acrobat Jack Dawson, before put down drag queen Myra DuBois enters in a large blonde wig. High heel boots and a black plastic raincoat sporting the catch cry “bitch”, among others, marks the entrance of exquisite pole dancer Blue Phoenix. Entwined homoerotic aerialists Reed Kelly and Jack Dawson, as good as they come, provide a phenomenal start to Act II. Another hair-raising routine with a difference follows from Fancy Chance. Jacqueline Furey, the lady on the power tool, returns and immediately turns up the heat.
The glue that binds all this together is the singing siren with a masterful sense of comic timing, Bernie Dieter. Dieter is a beauty, as is the whole collective. What a supremely talented troupe this is. In pushing boundaries, Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett remains hugely entertaining throughout. It is playing at RUNAWAY Festival Park, Market Square at the Queen Victoria Market until 30th October, as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. For tickets, go to https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/bernie-dieters-club-kabarett/
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Melbourne Cabaret Festival – theatre preview
- Mythos: Ragnarok (Melbourne Fringe Festival) – theatre review
- Le Freak (Melbourne Fringe Festival) – theatre review
Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.