Le Gateau Chocolat: Icons

The British cabaret artist Le Gateau Chocolat is one of the joys of the festival circuit. He first debuted as a solo artist in Adelaide in 2011 and has appeared in Edinburgh and Perth, as well as in the Spiegeltent shows La Clique and La Soiree. A bearded drag queen who uses the male pronoun, he’s an absolute joy, never fitting a single description and never needing to. He’s created an on-stage persona that works wonders, mainly because of the strength of his performances.

His 75-minute show Icons is an exploration of his own sense of self through musical icons that have helped shaped him - and the audience - over the past 30 years. Every song he makes his own, riffing on his own ideas, perhaps slowing it down or rearranging in some other way. He sings with a deep baritone, sometimes converting a high pop melody into a dramatic durge. Every time it works, whether it be for humour or an emotional punch. 

He enters to the piano from the back of the Spiegeltent, singing out from beneath a headpiece Kate Bush’s “Running up that Hill”. Soon he’s into a melody of Madonna, and with snippets from “Like a Prayer”, he begins talking about his religious upbringing in Nigeria. He tells other personal stories through an array of songs too: remembering a friend who took his own life in “For Good” from the musical Wicked (“because I knew you, I have been changed for good”) and then an hilarious “It Should Have Been Me”, which he had wanted to sing at a true love’s wedding.

The audience at the Spiegeltent is here for a good time, ready to sing Whitney or David Bowie or even Meatloaf with just a chord’s cue. And Le Gateau Chocolat delivers their glee. He’s very funny, whether it’s singing “I’d do anything for love (but I won’t do that)” or telling us about his family - including Papa Chocolat - in Nigeria. Icons is a show you don’t want to end: yes, please, more Whitney - just another song!

Almost everyone who lived through the 80s and 90s loves their musical icons. Le Gateau Chocolat doesn’t just bring them to life but tells his rather wonderful story through them. This is the genius of his show - the audience connects at a deeper level.

Le Gateau Chocolate - and his two-piece band - receive a standing ovation. When you create a piece of magic with a powerful personality that somehow becomes profound, there’s only one thing for the audience to do: take to their feet and cheer with joy.

Peter Gotting

Photographer: Jamie Williams.