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Scandalous Cabaret

20 November 2024 Amanda Harrison

Scandalous Cabaret Rating

★★★★★

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Scandalous Cabaret is a fusion of Circus, Comedy and Cabaret all rolled into one travelling act in a tent. With a larger cast of twelve performers they advertise their show as a ‘hybrid’ adults only Circus, that delivers a sensually themed collection of acts.

The performance contained many old favourites from the Circus arts however with modern twists. We see the Unicycle, but also a miniature version, a three-wheeled version and a two-story off-centred version. Juggling is another classic, but performed with bounce, movement and up to 7 balls at once.

The absolute standout of the act was the talented Trapeze artist who also performed an aerial act with chains and neck spinning. She was mesmerising, with incredible strength and fluidity of movement. A great commendation is needed for the choreographer of the acts, as every performance had amazing flow of movement and contained many transitions.

The choreography knew when to contrast stillness and movement, and constantly used symmetry between the aerial artists. This was evident across the board, including a contortion routine that contained so much elasticity and smoothness of movement. Another standout was a fire performance containing skin transfers and fire eating. This act had great transitions and practical use of fire palms, bubbles and wands with excellent variation between these things.

The individual circus acts were to an incredibly high standard, where it seems that achieving a continuum would be within their grasp. The dance choreography had a very classic jazz style and made little interludes between acts, which was not unwelcome. There was mention of tracking ‘gossip’ surrounding relationships as a story-line for the performance, but this was quickly forgotten.

It would be nice to see this story-line develop more or play a more active role in the way things are staged. We did get a nice classic jazz number that was sung quite well, it would be nice to see more showcasing of vocal talents in their line-up in the future. The song choices and comedy included in the show feel a little crude and immature, not giving a high-class cabaret feel to the show. It would be good to see the staging and theming evolve to better showcase the fantastic talent contained within their cast.

Overall, Scandalous was not very much so, but a great showcase of fluid choreography and talent. It still proved an entertaining time with nice reinventions of older circus acts, and a large cast of professionals.

Scandalous Cabaret runs 15th November – 14th December.

To book tickets, please visit https://scandalous.com.au/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

Author: Amanda Harrison

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Delicious Aerialicious

11 November 202410 November 2024 Amanda Harrison

Delicious by Aerialiscious Entertainment Rating

★★★★★

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Delicious is a scrumptious hybrid show mixing your favourite Burlesque and Circus acts, all themed around food and drink. The show as a whole imbues the audience with ecstatic energy, and satiates our hunger for entertainment.

It seamlessly blends comedy, acrobatics and eroticism in an extravaganza for any appetite. Our fantastic hosts, Chocolate Boxx and Clara Cupcakes bounce off each other brilliantly with quick witted remarks to introduce us to the world of ‘Delicious’ and its’ acts.

Initially we are met with Aline Chapet who performs a quirky routine with ‘Champagne’ bubbles. Her act brings the awe of a magician and the skill of a bartender to the stage, creating bubble art and playing with trapping and releasing smoke. Her act creates suspense and wonder as we wait for bubbles to pop, or not, as she skillfully crafts them. We were then rewarded with other unique acts such as Indie Berlin who performed a hilariously creative ‘Bread-lesque’ routine.

This combined the glitz and glam of burlesque with the comedic premise of feeding pigeons lots of bread; which was executed with elements of mime as well as expert choreography. Another creative act was Cello Bordello and her ‘hot-dog’ routine. This showcased a spunky burlesque number and a twist on sword swallowing except with a balloon. We were also delighted by some women’s Jelly Wrestling (Grace Law and Rachael Gibson); where you were still in the splash zone multiple rows back, causing eruptive laughter from the audience.

Our final unique act was Johnny Gash presenting a sweet ‘Candyman’ styled Drag King performance. Johnny Gash gave us the only vocal performance of the night, which was absolutely phenomenal and all but identical to Christina Augileira herself.

The circus acts included were incredible, with Andrea James Lui skillfully showcasing her amazing floorwork and Aerial Pole skills. With a quirky mad-hatter style, but incredible strength and fluidity she dazzled from the air. Elena Khaw graced us with an incredible show of contortion and flexibility, all whilst glazing herself in honey, keeping to the sweet theming.

Ambrose and Latonya brought some classic circus action with trapeze and Hula Hoop acts. Their Flow Art was smooth and polished, taking much coordination and strength. Finally, Tami Dawson presented hair suspension to close us out, which takes incredible, hair-raising skill.

With such a smorgasbord of talent, the audience was engaged and cheering from the start and this did not lull for the entire performance. The lighting and use of haze made all the performers look spectacular whether they be on the ground or in the air. The song choices were recognisable and energizing, bringing much enjoyment.

This show exudes confidence and really comes together beautifully, a perfect collection of talent, theming and taste. The cast and crew should be applauded for a delightful addition to the Melt Festival line-up.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Failure: A Love Story by the Villanova Players

9 November 2024 Amanda Harrison

Failure: A Love Story by the Villanova Players Rating

★★★★★

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Failure: A Love Story is a Dramedy that also explores the use of music in the 1920s-themed Character-centric play. We follow ‘Mortimer Mortimer’ played by the delightful Lachlan Gregory Hugh, on his ill-fated courtship of no fewer than three women of the ‘Fail Family’ and the journey of his life until death. The story is delivered uniquely, where the characters take turns offering narrations in the third person, flitting in and out of the story.

The play competently and creatively incorporates the use of projections to help transport us to the very many various locations in the play. The Projections often provide us with unique family portraits, some hilariously photoshopped.

Other unique aspects of this production include using puppetry to bring to life a pet snake and the smooth vocals of Milton Scully, who plays a personified Gramophone. Although Milton excels vocally, they are raw on-stage with no backing track provided, which could have elevated the Jazz vibes of his performance. He still gives it his all, showing us masterful carrying of tune, pitch and tone.

Another odd aspect is the appearance of a dog played by Shane Fell, whose end-of-life euthanasia is played for laughs. This sounds shocking, but Shane’s bold choice and comedic performance make this a stand-out comedic moment.

The main stand-out performances belong to Lachlan Gregory Hugh and Sabrina Fu, who play Mortimer Mortimer and Nelly Fail, respectively. They bring vibrancy and energy to the stage, appearing confident and collected in their performances. Erin Hall and Sophie Morrison bring consistency and grounding to their performances as the other ‘fail’ sisters. Nathan Seng excels in his role, convincingly playing the shy and awkward adopted ‘fail’ brother.

All actors were well-spoken, projecting to the entirety of the theatre throughout. Nathan Seng has a great voice in the snippet of singing we get from his character, and the chorus singing moments sound great. Although once again backing tracks, and more upbeat dance choreography could have lifted the energy in these scenes to support the actors’ performances. We are delivered very clean and precise blocking throughout the performance, showing this cast could’ve competently handled more energetic or elaborate configurations.

This production was crafted with care and talent in the prop department, showcasing amazing handmade pieces. From a clockwork coffin to a Gramophone-themed megaphone, the props used were excellent. The lighting once again plays it safe, only being incorporated occasionally as a story-telling device, but all actors are well-lit. The pacing seemed to be the greatest difficulty in this production, with narrations often dragging and struggling to support the story in building to its climactic points of drama.

Unfortunately, this impedes some of the comedic timing at points and makes the third act, as we travel towards the ending, feel quite long. There is, at times, masking from the cast as they wait in limbo to jump in for their section of narration. However, the jokes that do land delight the audience and keep us invested in the journey of Mortimer Mortimer. Lachlan really does bring a great surge of vitality to the stage with his performance, and he should be commended.

Failure: A Love Story provides us with a cozy journey. It is funny while fated to tragedy and intimately explores a person’s journey through love. The cast should be commended on their successful performance and efforts.

With only two nights remaining, book your tickets to Failure: A Love Story @ https://www.villanovaplayers.com/coming-soon

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Blur: Live At Wembley Stadium – Timeless

3 November 2024 Calliope Skye

Blur: Live at Wembley Stadium Rating

★★★★★

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The film “Blur: Live at Wembley Stadium,” directed by Tony L, is a concert film that shows the well-loved alternative/rock band Blur performing their songs to hundreds in Wembley. The sense of camaraderie, love of their music, and craft were evident in every number and every shot.

The guitar, piano and drums were amazing to watch and skillfully played. The vocals, while not the conventional vocal style of many pop artists, suited the genre quite well and reminded me of other bands such as The Killers and Coldplay (if they played grungy rock). Whether it be due to the sound mix quality of the film itself or the stage sound mix, it was difficult to understand what the lead vocalist was saying sometimes. Despite this, it was clear that they held their own and seamlessly lead each song with talent and professionalism. Transitions were well done and on point. All solos worked well and provided the right amount of dynamics to draw in the audience.

The shots and colours were fairly high quality and offered inviting and attractive visuals. The use of space onstage was creative and took advantage of the size of the stage. The use of lighting and contemporary stage design added to the aesthetic and complimented the music genre well. Purple, orange, and blue filters over the projections of the band members added a very 90s aesthetic, which I enjoyed.

Their use of props was especially interesting and uniquely added character to the show. For example, the use of megaphones and tall cardboard cut out of a polar bear. This also contributed to interesting musical dynamics in that the siren on the bear’s megaphone was turned on during the end of one of the songs and complimented it very well. Lighting was also cleverly placed at this point. It is clear that a live show was especially important to them, and the work they put into engaging the audience in these ways was impressive, and amusing and expressed the band’s personality well.

Audience interaction and inclusion in the film added a sense of community surrounding the band and the experience. The clapping in unison at the beginning of their fourth song was a great example of this. Another was the request of the mask of Darren to be put on. many in the crowd placed a mask over their face and raved along to the relevant song, which the lead guitarist led vocally. Hearing the crowd sing along and added a wholesome vibe to the show.

An understandable note I have was the presence of two men in white coats, adjusting instruments and amps on stage during songs. While it makes sense that there would be people to help with this, it seemed disruptive on more than one occasion. Some of the shots were good quality, but slightly spoiled by the running back and forth of the stagehands/roadies. One of which, almost got hit in the face by a guitar a few times, which I found concerning.

At one stage, towards the end of a song, it seemed something had gone wrong with one of the instruments or pedals because the lead guitar cut out, and the lead vocalist requested the audience sing acapella with them instead. The lead guitarist initially seemed nervous about the issue but was soon comforted by the seamless way everyone rallied to finish the song. It was a beautiful moment, whether intended or not, that became one of my favourite moments in the film.

At every moment, Blur showed that they, without a doubt, know how to put on a show. Yes, time may have passed, but this show is TIMELESS.

The British Film Festival 2024 runs from Nov – Dec 8.

To book tickets to this or other films click https://britishfilmfestival.com.au/ for session and venue details.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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