Review: ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL Discover The World Of Cabaret, One Laundry Basket At A Time With RUDI'S THE RINSE CYCLE

Sunday 12 June 2016, 6:45pm, Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre

Adelaide's favourite clown and Cabaret personality Hew Parham takes on a new persona to explore what goes into a make a Cabaret. With the aid of a disembodied voice providing the prompts of a "how to" guide, the adorable, endearing, and expressive Rudi creates a hilarious cabaret that ticks all the boxes.

Parham, who is well known in Adelaide for his wonderful characters from the unintelligible childlike Schmoo to the crazy Italian waiter Giovanni, has bought the Weimar cabaret inspired Rudi to THE ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL. In black trousers held up, somewhat reluctantly, by suspenders over a bare chest, the innocent looking Rudi with his white painted face and child like curl sets about discovering what makes up a cabaret.

Parham has created an incredibly clever work that explores cabaret whilst also poking fun at the notion that cabaret is formulaic. Delving into his washing basket of costumes and the characters that have infused themselves into the clothes, Rudi takes advice from the mysterious voice to create a show filed with comedy, social commentary, love, tragedy, music and wonderful physicality. Assisted by Aaron Nash on piano, Rudi delivers a collection of songs with German gravity and a wonderful texture that whilst remaining in character give hints to an underlying beautiful voice.

Drawing on the iconic tragic clowns, Parham gives Rudi an innocence and naivety as he interprets the voice's instructions. He gives Rudi a beautifully awkward physicality that extends from the broadest movements to the subtlest facial expression.

RUDI'S THE RINSE CYCLE is a wonderful blend of "traditional" cabaret, vaudeville and obscure bizarreness that will have you laughing to the point of tears. For those that are new to cabaret, this is a fabulous "crash course". For cabaret regulars this is a wonderful parody that reminds us that so many things fit within the genre and to not take it too seriously, at least not the style.

RUDI'S THE RINSE CYCLE
Adelaide Cabaret Festival
11-13 June 2016