Review: Dallimore prefers Blondes (and brains!) in DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK at Hayes Theatre

Helen Dallimore is smart, stunning, seductive and salacious. And if you think that's cool, wait 'til you see her intellect! Australia's Glinda the Good Witch goes bad -no, not that one, that's Lucy Durack, this is the one that premiered it in the UK! Got it? Good! - in a revue of some of pop culture's most iconic blondes before Dallimore herself took the sable mantle for her very own!

Shapeshifting into legends Marilyn Monroe, Mae West, Dolly Parton and Madonna with surprising gusto and accuracy, Dallimore's impersonations come with humorous and sincere twists of lyric and history. Mae West doing Uptown Funk, Marilyn Monroe doing Candle in the Wind, and the whole Madonna monologue were particular highlights.

Dallimore's decisive and dazzling display leaves us wondering if it's blonde, or naked ambition that has so compelled these women to not only bypass the seemingly compulsory hurdles for women in their respective times, but be applauded for doing so.

Dallimore's two-night spectacular is a wonderful facet of the almighty jewel that is this year's Hayes Theatre Company Cabaret season. Featuring a range of incredibly talented artists, piano sing-alongs, it's the perfect escape from the dreary beginning of Sydney winter. The other thing to crack out your coin for is Helen's next show Witches, which features a, shall we say, WICKED line up of women and also Australian gem of musical theatre Ben Lewis is jumping up! Keep an eye on this one, she's got more than a few tricks up her sleeve if this, her cabaret premiere, is anything to go by. All-at-once genuine and authentic, vocally powerful, displaying a versatile and classic talent.