Australian masters of variety extravaganzas Strut & Fret return to the UK with their unashamedly adult and savagely sexy new show Sabrage. Just don’t forget the first rule of cabaret.
This collaboration with London’s Menier Chocolate Factory is built around the idea of having a boozy good time: the title comes from the showy act of lopping off the top of a champagne bottle with a sabre. Health and safety would probably have something to say should you try doing this in the local pub but, in the stylishly louche environment of Lafayette, it acts both as a metaphor and a classy opener.
Maidment’s previous production Limbo saw performers shimmy up tall bendy poles along the outside of the stage before leaning right over those at the front. Here, that idea is taken a step further: those closest to the front can expect to be bombarded with lewd propositions, feathers, glitter, a huge flag and maybe even a glass of champagne from directly overhead. You don’t get this at the National.
Sabrage flips the script on cabaret giant La Clique. Rather than having a conveyor belt of unannounced variety acts, director Scott Maidment uses the two hosts Remi Martin and Spencer Novic to ease us into the spectacular numbers. Lafayette is no Spiegeltent but builds up a sufficiently intoxicating atmosphere in this intimate bar. And, while La Clique tends to keep all the action on stage with the occasional foray, Sabrage goes out of its way to make the whole audience feel included.
There’s an even mix of variety acts and group numbers, both of which are artfully delivered by a talented international crew. Like La Clique favourite Tara Boom, Emma Phillips is a foot juggler par extraordinaire. When not bouncing a single parasol up and around using only the power of her toes, she balances four of them on one foot while spinning a rug around on her other. And that’s all before she juggles a large wooden table this way and that all while still lying on her back. Kimberley Bargenquast and Flynn Miller on duo straps are the night’s main aerial routine and close out the show with a strong - if a tad short - routine.
There’s entertainment by the (champagne) bucketful and there’s absolutely no shortage of exuberance and energy here. Maidment makes the most of the night’s theme and his signature immersive staging touches folds everyone in the venue into the experience. Given that one survey suggests 85% of people choose wine based on the label, it’s a good thing that - between Philip Gladwell’s clever set and his voluminous lighting and James Browne’s costume design - there’s plenty of eye candy to go around.
Sabrage, though, lacks the subtle craft and genuinely innovative circus seen in smaller productions like Sophie’s 29th Surprise which recently walked off with an OffWestEnd award. Even at a running time of two hours, it feels a little lacking in terms of circus and cabaret and some of what there is just doesn’t land. Novich walks around for far too long with a facsimile of his “flesh chandelier” hanging out of his trousers while his hosting partner Martin’s solo “cockenspiel” act is more Lambrini than Lambrusco.
The towel routine that begins the second half is the epitome of what the show seems to be all about. Since Les Beaux Frères (Yohann Trépanier and Raphaël Dubé) amazed talent show judges around the world with their saucy duo towel routine - in which naked acrobats do their very best to juggle the cloths every which way in order to retain some modicum of modesty - it has been reproduced in many different formats.
It’s an incredibly fun piece of circus that never fails to enthral and requires no small amount of timing and bravery on the part of the performers. It’s also now, though, incredibly derivative and has been bettered elsewhere, not least by Dubé himself who created a five-person version for his marvellous Machine De Cirque and in Head First Acrobats’ comedy classic Godz which comes to Peacock Theatre in June. Rather than pushing their own boat out, Sabrage occasionally seems happy to lease out someone else’s.
Cabaret is seeing something of a return after a dour post-pandemic period. Based on The Greatest Showman film, big-budget extravaganza Come Alive! has been extended into the autumn, Underbelly Soho is picking up speed with its musical comedy, magic and clown shows, Burlesque The Musical makes its West End debut in July and famed burlesquer Dita Von Teese returns to London for the first time in a very long while with her immersive theatrical production Diamonds And Dust. Slowly but surely, London is becoming once again a three-ring circus of vaudeville delights for all tastes.
Sabrage continues until July 6.
Photo credit: Matt Crockett
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