The Last Galah

Matilda Waltzes into Finale for Successful Adelaide Cabaret Festival

The final celebration of Adelaide’s 2016 Cabaret Festival had plenty of Aussie touches as befits The Last Galah, the title of the night. There was Eddie Perfect in blue singlet and shorts, looking amusingly incongruous by also wearing formal white tails. His co-Artistic Director Ali McGregor teamed up with The Birds to start the show and began in an eye-boggling galah-themed shiny pink, grey and white creation. She outdid this later with a jacket covered in souvenir-shop koalas.

Add to that gum tree branches hanging in the background above a backdrop of corrugated fencing and you have a recipe for dinkum Aussie irreverence. However, despite expectations fueled by a program warning of coarse language and mature themes there was surprisingly little of that irreverence on show in the performances, unlike last year’s raunchy and ribald finale with Sir Les Paterson.

It was a night of smoothly professional cabaret, with Australian and international artists including Kate Ceberano and Paul Grabowsky, Tom Burlinson, Yana Alana, Sven Ratzke, Dash Kruck, Naomi Price and singer/songwriter Casey Benetto among them. One of our very own local stars stole my heart on the night; Libby O’Donovan was mesmerising and quite moving with her heartfelt song about the memories stirred in late-stage dementia by songs from our past. Not a dry eye. It was also great to see cabaret stars of the future there, fresh from the Class of Cabaret 2016. There are some names to look out for among them, including Benji Riggs. 

Unusually for an Australia-themed show, Banjo Paterson’s "Waltzing Matilda" was not to be heard, but Matilda still stole the show when it was announced Matilda the Musical, with words and music written by another celebrated Aussie, Tim Minchin, will feature in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2017 (read more). We were treated to a taste of what’s to come, with Matilda’s very own James Millar performing, this time not as scary Miss Trunchbull, but as himself.

Heading into its last day, this year’s Cabaret Festival was tracking to be one of the most successful ever with the festival at 102% of its box office target with ticketed attendances over 42,000. 41% of ticket buyers have been to more than one show and 16% have been to four or more shows.

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director, Douglas Gautier said, “The 2016 Adelaide Cabaret Festival has been a tremendous hit with audiences and Ali, Eddie and the Festival team have done a great job at putting together this year’s outstanding program. The atmosphere at Adelaide Festival Centre has been electric over the past two weeks and I look forward to seeing what Ali and Eddie have in store for the Festival in 2017.”

Artistic Director Eddie Perfect added, “I can't help but feel anything other than energised, inspired and incredibly fortunate to have been a part of it. The skill and breathtaking generosity of our performers from across the globe, along with the tireless effort of the entire production crew, tech staff, producers and marketers has been a joy to behold. The message is loud and clear; our audiences crave ingenuity and connection, and have surpassed our wildest expectations in exploring what comes next in the world of Cabaret. Bravo 2016, and bring on 2017.”

“This year’s program was a joy to put together,” Ali McGregor said, “and it has been so wonderful to see it come to fruition. One of the most exciting things for me is to see what a dedicated, professional and well organised team of technical crew, designers, producers and musicians can create before we performers even step on stage. I have loved sharing this festival with my friends and colleagues from around the world who, every year, are blown away by this festival, and the audiences who come out in their droves to experience such diverse and wonderful shows. Viva Cabaret!”

There’s a long year ahead, but it sounds like it’ll be worth the wait.

Lesley Reed

Matilda image by James Morgan