Songs of Love and Revolution

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival can quite successfully claim to be one of the best in the world. From the lavish glittering showcase that was the opening Gala, through the myriad of performances during the festival, to the smashing Closing Variety Gala at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide has been treated to talent in spades.

The programme quotes of the Variety Gala, titled Songs of Love and Revolution, “Few artistic endeavours match cabaret’s power to channel dissent and challenge the status quo.” The audience were certainly treated to a variety of performances that both challenged the ears and eyes.

Leading with a full-cast opening number, ‘Children of the Revolution’, the night was off with a bang. The tight band, under the masterful guidance and arrangement of Mark Ferguson, was a powerhouse and the number augured well for the rest of the show.

A tasting platter for the senses, the show gave us titbits from various performances - from the very silly, but entertaining, Peter and Bambi Heaven to the stunning tones of Michael Feinstein.

Ali Mc Gregor and Eddie Perfect, the 2017 artistic directors of the Cabaret Festival, emceed the Gala with panache and great humour. Commenting that revolution is about wanting to tear things down and build things up, it was not a huge step to make a humorous connection to the redevelopment of the Festival centre and the future changes to Her Majesty’s Theatre itself.

Perfect showed in his banter and his own performance of a self-composed piece from the musical Beetlejuice, why he is such a talent. Mc Gregor, also a consummate cabaret performer, gave her all in her rendition of INXS’s ‘Never tear us apart’.

The set for this Gala also deserves a mention; throughout the performances, hoody-wearing Banksy-esque characters decorated walls with graffiti to build the theme of revolution while a construction site on stage added to the raw feel of the show.

Some highlight moments were:

Strange Bedfellows – a joy to see two talented opera singers in a performance so far removed and entertaining. Jacqui Dark and Kanen Breen as dominatrix and bad boy were hilarious as they belted out lyrics like ‘The clitoris is the Devil’s doorbell’.

Peter and Bambi Heaven, touted as coming direct from the Gold Coast, were glitzy and trashy and took magician and assistant to a whole new level of joyful stupidity.

The three amazing ladies of Cyrens were, as always, a powerhouse of stunning vocal harmony - Amanda Harrison (Wicked), Chelsea Renton-Gibb (Cabaret, Chicago) and Melissa Langton (Singlettes) were a stand out in quality and professionalism.

The cabaret festival is also known for showcasing up and coming Cabaret stars and we were treated to a snippet from the Graduates of Cabaret class Retrospective -some great talent here to keep an eye on.

This reviewer’s final picks for outstanding performances were those of Lady Rizo and Michael Feinstein, both hailing from the US. Lady Rizo is an amazing performer. Looking like Marilyn Monroe and sounding like Lady Gaga, her performance of her own piece, ‘Song of Freedom’ was uplifting and exciting. Her compatriot Feinstein showed us why he is an international star. His crooning velvety tones mesmerized the audience, with a beautiful rendition of ‘Fifty Percent’ from the musical Ballroom. This alone was worth the ticket to the Gala.

The finale of the show brought back most of the night’s performers and left us wanting more. Whilst it was announced that Eddie Perfect will no longer be acting as artistic director with Ali Mc Gregor from this year due to his composing commitments in New York, it is clear that Adelaide Cabaret Festival is still in safe hands with McGregor.

I know that I, along with many others, look forward to another stunning banquet of Cabaret next year.

Shelley Hampton

Ali McGregor and Eddie Perfect (Photographer: Claudio Raschella) and Cyrens (Photographer: James Penlides)