Review: ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL 2017: SONGS OF LOVE AND REVOLUTION at Her Majesty's Theatre

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Saturday 24th June 2017.

For the closing gala performance the Festival's artistic directors, Ali McGregor and Eddie Perfect, chose the theme, Songs of Love and Revolution. They were joined by the Festival performers who were still in Adelaide, presenting their shows on this final weekend, with the opening ensemble number featuring the duo with the
Class of Cabaret Graduates, Simon Hall, the Strange Bedfellows: Jacqui Dark and Kanen Breen, and the Cyrens: Amanda Harrison, Chelsea Renton-Gibb, and Melissa Langton.

Simon Hall was the first soloist for the evening, followed by the Strange Bedfellows, Jacqui Dark and Kanen Breen, bringing the house down again with their Southern Baptist sermon about the evils of touching your naughty bits, from their show Bedlam. Peter and Bambi Heaven followed, but they seemed a little incongruous.

The Cyrens then told us, with some sensational harmonies, that It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish and It Ain't Nobody's Business but My Own. The Class of Cabaret Graduates then, very appropriately, sang Revolution, from their show, Retrospective.

Eddie Perfect gave us another of the marvellous potential songs from Betelgeuse, and then it was Michael Feinstein's turn, with 50 Percent, from Ballroom. Both artists received huge applause, of course. As did Catherine Alcorn and, naturally, Ali McGregor, singing her great version of the INXS number, Never Tear Us Apart.

That remarkable performer, Cameron Goodall, became over thirty different singers in his show, The Sound of Falling Stars, and he gave us one of those as Sam Cooke, A Change is Gonna Come, the audience raising the roof with their response. ReuBen Kaye and Lady Rizo were the last two to perform. Kaye offered an ethereal approach to the subject matter, with great depth of emotion, and LadyRizo sang her own Song of Freedom, a fitting end to the solos.

The Cabaret Icon award this year went to Deborah Byrne who was unable to be there due to being hospitalised a few days before. It was the announced that Ali McGregor will be the sole artistic director for the 2018 Festival as Eddie Perfect will be too busy writing his Broadway musical, Betelgeuse, as well as new songs for King Kong, involving time spent travelling and in America. He will still be involved, however, which was good news.

The entire ensemble then took to the stage to close the evening with one of Perfect's songs for King Kong, You Are The Light. It was a fine end to the evening, and the evening was a fine end to the Cabaret Festival.

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