This is a great night out starts before the show does. The House Soirée at Piper’s Playhouse creates an interactive experience from the moment you walk in the door. From the moment I arrived at Crown Melbourne, the evening was already in motion.
A woman greets you at the entrance selling glasses of champagne. From there you slip through red curtains into a room with series of small booths. In the first, guests write confessions on red tickets. In others, the confessions are written onto the wall. Through a window, a performer sits at her mirror applying her makeup and getting ready for the night ahead. You meet her again later in the show. There is a wall covered in red tickets, each one holding someone’s juicy secret. Before the show has started, you already feel part of the story.
Inside, a host shows you to your table. Seating is cabaret style, arranged around a stage that pushes out into the middle of the room, so most of the action happens in the round. The room has a carefully crafted vibe. Despite being a couple of floors above street level, it feels like an underground secret club, the kind of place you access via a secret door.
Hosted by Le Maître and his housemates, the show unfolds across three acts, and the cast is fantastic. Circus performers, burlesque, singing and dance numbers all share the bill, with plenty of playful audience interaction woven through. The energy starts high and stays there, helped by a cast that roves through the crowd at the start and again at the end, stopping to have fun with guests at their tables. Everyone plays multiple roles, the drag performer also takes a turn as the DJ. The action moves quickly around the space and never loses momentum. At one point the dancers take over the bar itself. Towards the end, a famous style of burlesque performed in a giant glass becomes one of the night’s standout moments, and I won’t spoil it here.
The costumes are bold, strong and inventive. A palette of black, white and red runs through every look, with details like big red lips and lush oversized flowers that lean into the sexy atmosphere of a Parisian soirée. Corsets, paired with lace and animal print match the high energy of the performances. The audience embraced the theme too. On the night I attended, the crowd arrived dressed to the nines and ready to play. When the audience commits as much as the cast, the evening goes beyond an experience you are only there to watch.
If you want a night out that feels elevated, fun and interactive, and leaves you ready to kick on, I highly recommend The House Soirée. It makes a perfect pick for the holiday season or for celebrating with friends. The season runs Thursday to Saturday until 30 January, so plan your outfit and book a table.
To book tickets to The House Soirée, please visit https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/the-house-soiree-at-pipers-playhouse-tickets/artist/4702121.