From high octane pop and rock to soulful melodies and operatic arias, this is a rampant, raucous, defiant, unabashed and provocative celebration of cabaret. These divas and deviants know how to party and ensure all of us are along for a particularly wild ride. They’ve been upending the art form for 20 years, doing things…
Since the age of 11, when he was taken to see the dark musical Chicago at the Sydney Opera House, Scott Hollingsworth has dreamt of becoming a star. He went on to forge a successful 18-year career as part of the ensemble in big musicals on Broadway and the West End, but he yearned for…
An eclectic comedian and singer with a working-class style and a potty mouth, MJ Wilson sets us up for a show about love … and horses. With a pleasant, mellifluous voice, he proceeds to warble Elton John’s Your Song. Changing tone, he makes light of what he calls his “dribbling” and speech impediment (which I couldn’t hear)….
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…
Film noir in style, Cab Suave is circus and cabaret mixed with comedy under the thin pretence of a detective story. The private investigator and master of ceremonies is Dick Johnson. He is also a highly competent performer whose routines are interspersed with the other acts. He juggles, twirls and balances – and impresses – using…
To state the bleedin’ obvious, COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the world … and comedian and songstress Tash York throws many well-chosen barbs regarding coronavirus into a powerhouse show. She’s sassy and saucy and altogether supreme as she and her two flaming red-haired drag artist sidekicks Matthew Hadgraft and Vivian Fonteyn – one on piano and the…
Nostalgia is very much alive and kicking … and Grant Busé has made a thoroughly entertaining, hour-long show about it. He sings, dances, plays instruments (guitar and piano) and chats up a storm. He is funny, clever, risqué and endearing. He pokes fun at the fact that the world seems to be all about remakes, reboots and remixes. He bemoans that “nostalgia just…
The bizarre meets the macabre and the maudlin in The Broken Mill. Through original song, storytelling and mime, six performers and four band members tell the tale of the manipulative and murderous Mama (Sarah Wall). She has taken in the destitute and disenfranchised and pulled together a cabaret involving misfits and mould breakers. Some are convinced she…
Va-va-voom! What a talent Chris Burgess is. The young man studying honours in musical theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts is a star in the making if Lennox: Legend in my Living Room is anything to go by. He is an entertainer extraordinaire with a strong and powerful voice and a confident persona, combining Annie Lennox (of…
Bigger & Blacker begins with Steven Oliver’s iconic line from ABC’s Black Comedy. It is appropriate, given that the Cloncurry-born writer and actor is probably best-known for his sketch performances in the fast-paced, provocative and bold foray into race relations. However, as his autobiographical comedy cabaret shows, there is much more to this self-proclaimed faboriginal…
