Review: THE VELVET REVOLVER AND THE HOUSE OF EXCHANGE – VARIETY NIGHT at The Producers Hotel

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Saturday 14th May 2021.

With COVID-19 largely under control and venues in South Australia being permitted to return to full capacity, Velvet Chase Productions wasted no time in getting back into action with the latest venture, The Velvet Revolver, an evening of variety performances. On the side of the Producers Hotel is a multi-purpose section referred to as The Warehouse, a long space with a stage at one end, chairs put out or removed as needed to suit the performance, and a small bar.

The evening was opened by 'G.I. Junk', corseted, with leather and metal accessories, his rich and powerful vocals ably accompanied by Michael Büchter on 12-string guitar. They gave us another great number in the second half, and 'G.I. Junk' acted as the MC for the rest of the event.

The first act introduced was the always popular, 'Trixie Pole Dancer', who seems to have the ability to turn off gravity. Forget the pole for a moment. A folding metal chair was all that she needed to start her segment, offering some spellbinding moves before then moving on to her pole for another of her impressive performances. It is no surprise that she is highly in demand as a teacher. A long-time collaborator in Velvet Chase Productions performances, she has been a permanent cast member of #nofilter, a stunning work that originated in the Adelaide Fringe and, was immediately booked to appear at the prestigious Festival D'Avignon, in France.

'ALIxx' combines drag and dance and they appeared twice during the evening, the first time offering a more conventional take, lip-synching to the soundtrack, but with more elaborate dancing than is usually expected, including such moves as turning a somersault, straight into the splits. The second time they appeared, theirs was a stunning contemporary dance performance.

Ryan Razi combines magic and juggling, starting with two large S-shaped props that he twisted and turned in the air to create a multitude of shapes and patterns. He continued with the aid of a crystal ball, cleverly manipulated to give the impression that the ball has a life of its own, and then, suddenly, another ball appears, and another, and more.

'Lumia Lemae' works with ropes, lots of them. Her segment began with her practicing Shibari Japanese rope bondage on herself, before launching into an aerial display suspended from a ring on the end of a rope dangling from the rafters. The ring is replaced by links and she ties herself to them, as well as adding more ropes to her bindings, intensifying the complex aerial display.

'Winter Amour' is hot stuff, lighting up the stage with her pyrotechnical performance. She gave an intricate performance, well suited to the small stage and the enclosed venue, and in keeping with fire safety precautions. There is considerable skill in fire twirling, dancing, and breathing, but more so in such a contained performance.

It wouldn't be a complete show without a tongue-in-cheek, storytelling performance from 'Velvet Chase' herself and, this time, she became the Black Widow, beginning at the graveside, holding a bunch of tulips. As is her wont, the narrative became progressively darker, and more bloodthirsty, with the aid of an unsuspecting conscripted member of the audience as her next intended victim.

An exciting announcement was that 'Velvet Chase' is working on another production in the style of the acclaimed, #nofilter. That is something for which to look forward.

If you missed out this time around, don't worry, there will be further performances at 8pm on Saturday 17th July and Saturday 18th September. The line-ups for each show may vary, so be sure to book for both.

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