Review: THE RENDEZ-VOUS REVUE, VAULT Festival

From the moment it begins, you can tell that Rendez-Vous Revue is a tribute to musical theatre. The show begins completely in the dark with a long recorded "overture" that leads into the opening number.

The MC, Ruby Wednesday, began the show with an enchanting live performance of "Hey Big Spender" from Sweet Charity. Ruby Wednesday then introduced the "matriarchal figure of the show," Mamma Me, also known as ME the Drag Queen. She lip-synced along to "When You're Good to Mama" from Chicago before introducing herself as a co-host of Rendez-Vous Revue, claiming that she would be "metaphorically holding" the hands of the audience.

Evelyn Carnate (one of my new favourite nicknames), gave an entrancing performance that begins as a striptease, slowly taking apart her costume and giving different sections of the audience "sneak peeks" before the main reveal on centre stage.

Athena Beauvoir danced to "Dance at the Gym" from West Side Story. Beauvoir's hairstyle and personality on stage reminded me of Keeley Jones from Ted Lasso, a high compliment! Sadiq Sadiq gave a show-stopping performance, showing off his incredible strength while pole dancing. He also gave a bit of a strip tease on stage when taking a break from pole dancing, removing pieces of his cowboy costume and pouring water over himself. It was slightly confusing to have the pole off stage, away from the audience, but luckily not much is missed.

In between the acts, both Mamma Me and Ruby Wednesday performed several songs, including "Class" from Chicago and "Smooth" by Santana. The Boudoir Babes (Donna Poderosa, Deeva D, Blue LaLoux) accompanied them throughout the show, also using the time to pick up spare costume pieces and props that had been left behind by the burlesque performers. Finally, to end the show (before the classic ensemble number), ME the Drag Queen let go of her host role to perform the titular "Cabaret".

Ultimately, Rendez-Vous Revue is a fun show with some great performances that could be a little more cohesive. Sometimes the performances felt a bit low-energy, but that may have been solo performers being on such a large stage, only accompanied by loud music and the cheering audience.

Rendez-Vous Revue ran at the VAULT Festival on 24 February at The Flair Ground at The Vaults.

Photo Credit: VAULT Festival

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