Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 10th June 2016
The grand opening of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2016 is, as always, the
Variety Gala Performance in the Festival Theatre, this year presented by the co-Artistic Directors, Ali McGregor and Eddie Perfect. Tickets for this are always much sort after and it is always sold out, which is hardly surprising considering that it is a chance to see a snippet of their performances by a selection of artists who will be performing in the Festival and who are already in town. Aside from an evening packed tightly with entertainment, it offers a chance for the audience to get a glimpse of acts with whom they might not be familiar, and there are always people scurrying to the ticket desk after this event to book more shows.
Everybody's favourite glamorous cabaret conductor, Vanessa Scammel, was back again to conduct the orchestra, referred to this year as The Scammers. What a fine group of musicians they were, too. With the talented and versatile Zephyr Quartet as the string section, international artist, Alana Dawes, on bass, and a whole host of other top Adelaide musicians, the quality of the music was assured.
McGregor and Perfect started the show with a comical interchange in song, as they each claimed full ownership of the Cabaret Festival. Behind them was a set that might be described as 'designer grot', with the stage open to the back wall and littered with ladders, equipment cases and other theatrical detritus. Stage crew and performers wandered to and fro across the back at irregular intervals, odds and ends were tidied or removed between acts, and scraps were flown in to join with other odds and ends already on stage to form the word cabaret, two ladders forming the As. This reflected the advertising logo for this year.
Then it a succession of acts jam packed into the allotted time representing the wide range of styles in this year's Festival, beginning with
Frank Woodley with a comical song from his show The Composer is Dead, which he performs with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. No expense is spared in this highly popular festival. Popping up here and there during the evening was Hew Parham as one of his alter egos, Rudi, a not overly bright cabaret performer whom he created some years ago for a very popular cabaret venue. Having trained in modern clowning in Canada, Parham now teaches in Adelaide and his show, Rudi's Rinse Cycle, is a sure bet to have full houses.
In keeping with cabaret, Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood opened with a chant before offering a comic song from their production Mother's Ruin, a show that is all about gin. There will be a lot of laughing during this show, judging by this small sample. More comedy, bordering on the insane, came from
Rhonda Burchmore and
Trevor Ashley the latter reducing the audience to tears of laughter with his interpretive dance antics.
From the ridiculous to the sublime,
Barb Jungr, always a favourite in Adelaide, sang a song from her show, Hard Rain, a collection of music by
Bob Dylan and
Leonard Cohen. Putting her wonderfully expressive style with these two greats is certain to appeal to vast numbers of patrons.
From the realm of Nuvo Cabaret came Die Roten Punkte, a German sibling duo, Astrid and Otto, who quibble and quarrel, then reveal that they are highly skilled musicians. Their show, Eurosmash is sure to be a smash hit, simply because their performances always are. Staying with comedy, Miss Behave and Harriet, her assistant, presented a few of the games from Miss Behave's Gameshow, a strange collection of games that had the audience participating willingly and laughing a lot.
The very popular trio of comedians and singers, Tripod, presented an hilarious song from their show, This Gaming Life, about their addition to online gaming. They have a huge following all around Australia so yhis is another show guaranteed to sell out. Back once more to the sublime and
Robyn Archer sang a number from her show, Dancing on the Volcano, songs from the German Kabarett between the wars. She is both an expert researcher into this era, as well as a stupendous interpreter of the songs. Her performances always sell out and the two this year will be no exception.
Bobby Fox's show, 4 Seasons in 1 Night, with a backing vocal trio, is a tribute to the music of
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Fox played the role of
Frankie Valli in the Australian tour of Jersey Boys, so he has plenty of practice, and he certainly knows his stuff.
The final act for the evening was a chicken. Actually, it was Amy G, with a number from Entershamement, her show filled with comical song and dance. She is not only very funny she also has a marvellous voice, and a strong following of fans. She would have gained some more tonight.
All good things come to an end, but there was still time to drop into the Piano Bar to catch
Trevor Jones before heading home, and a massive crowd of people did exactly that. He will be performing there throughout the Cabaret Festival, and entry is free. He not only plays piano brilliantly, and can really sell a song, but he has a great line in patter to keep the audience laughing, too. Drop in for a while after seeing shows, to extend your evening of pleasure.
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