Review: CABARET FRINGE 2017: OPENING NIGHT GALA PERFORMANCE at Freemason's Hall

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 2nd June 2017

Adelaide's Cabaret Fringe is celebrating its tenth anniversary in style, starting with the usual big event, the Opening Night Gala Performance, two hours of variety showcasing many of those who will be performing over the next three or so weeks. The lovely old ballroom in the Freemason's Hall was the venue this year, one of many venues employed in this ever expanding event that outgrew its initial home at La Boheme, Adelaide's all year round home of cabaret, in only the second year of operation. That extremely popular wine bar and entertainment venue, La Boheme, of course, will be jam-packed with performances, too, as the central point and administration centre for the entire Cabaret Fringe.

Although the performance began at 8pm, the doors opened at 6pm to allow patrons to socialise over a drink or two first. Joint owner of La Boheme, and co-founder of the Cabaret Fringe, Paul Boylan, moustachioed and dressed to kill in tails and a top hat, was on hand to welcome everybody and introduce the compères for the event.

The hosts for the evening, Jennifer Kingwell and Hans, opened the performance, firstly with her alone, singing at the piano, and then into a lively duet to recorded music with Hans, the German Boy Wonder, a stalwart of the Adelaide cabaret and comedy scenes, dressed in pink, from the top of his feathered hat to his feet. Their appearances throughout the evening kept everybody very well entertained, maintaining the high pace needed for such a variety performance. Hans has a one night only performance of his hit show, Mein Camp.

First up was Sapphire Snow, who runs Club Burlesk, and also teaches swing dancing, with another of her stylish routines. She always brings a good degree of cheekiness to her routines, and this was no exception, the audience getting into the spirit of the performance, cheering and egging her on.

Josh Belperio's show is called Scarred for Life, and is all based on a recent, life-threatening accident from which, fortunately for both him and us, he has fully recovered. He is a very talented songwriter with a big career ahead of him, and the very meaningful song from his show touched the audience.

Martin Pascoe is presenting Flash Blacks: Live Indigenous Cabaret, and his warm, smoky voice and personable manner are sure to win him many friends. He was joined during the performance by Darlene, who provided harmonies and counter-melodies to good effect.

Anya Anastasia is appearing in The New Cabaret Experiment. She is an internationally acclaimed artist and universally receives highly deserved rave reviews for her performances. She will be performing in London and Edinburgh this year. Accompanying herself at the piano, she sang a poignant song, made humorous in her telling of the stories, about the past people in her love life and how they mistreated her. It was clear that she connected with many of the audience who have had similar experiences. This new show is surely going to be another big success.

Kinetic Noise: Daniel Jarmyn, Courtney Sturm, Iri Roche, Jamie Chilvers, Casper Shepherd, and Lauren McQuillan, a group of mid-teen performers, presented a risky balancing act from their show, Unhindered, with chairs precariously balanced on one another, and a member of the group performing acrobatics in the top, accompanied by bass and vocals. There were a few sharp intakes of breath from the audience. They describe their production as "An innovative fusion of circus, music and physical theatre".

Mama Alto and her piano accompanist, Miss Chief, are in Adelaide from Melbourne and Brisbane respectively to present Mama Alto: Torch Songs. As always, she embodied the height of style in a dress that had many in the audience envious, topped with a faux fur. She opened with one of my favourite songs, Black Coffee, and gave it a sensational rendition. She had the entire audience in the palm of her hand from start to finish. It came as no surprise that, at the end of her set, she was awarded a standing ovation, with cheering, whistling, and massive applause.

Mikelangelo, who is perhaps best known for his performances with his band, The Black Sea Gentleman, has two shows in the Cabaret Fringe, Mikelangelo: The Best Of and Tower of Song: Celebrating the music of Leonard Cohen. Mikelangelo is a regular visitor to Adelaide for our various festivals, including WOMADelaide, and his many fans are sure to flock to his shows to drink in that amazingly deep, rich voice, and the wonderful songs of Cohen. Needless to say, his performance was greeted with great delight. Jennifer Kingwell will be a guest in Tower of Song.

Following the Gala, the local band, Lucifer's Lounge, took to the stage and the evening went on much longer, with tables cleared away to make room for dancing. There was no need to go looking for somewhere to go after the show as, very cleverly, it was provided on site, and many took advantage of the party atmosphere to dance, meet the performers, and have another drink or two before facing the cold night air. The Cabaret Fringe was off to a terrific start.

You have missed the Gala, if you weren't there, but you can still catch all of the shows that were showcased, and many more, over the next three weeks. Book quickly, though, as Cabaret Fringe shows are notorious for selling out. You can peruse the programme and book tickets, here.

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