All posts tagged: cabaret

2017 Melbourne Cabaret Festival

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Dolly Diamond, Melbourne’s undisputed Queen of Cabaret has taken the reins of this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival, in her role of Artistic Director to bring together ten Australian premiere shows as well as some of the best new talent. Now in it’s eighth year, Melbourne Cabaret Festival returns to Chapel Off Chapel with two weeks of fabulous entertainment.  “At last I can reveal the fabulous line-up for this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival”, says Dolly Diamond, Artistic Director, Melbourne Cabaret Festival.  “It’s full of homegrown Australian talent with a huge amount of new works being presented. It was important for me this year to draw on the talented artists who live and work in Australia, just as I do. I’m a great admirer of artists working all around the world but I felt it was time to focus on the performers who are the backbone of Australian cabaret.”  “I believe we have put together a program that audiences will really enjoy and for me that’s what cabaret is all about. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at Chapel Off Chapel when …

In Cabaret

Review: Performance Management – in Cabaret

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A Saturday night at the Wonderland Spiegeltent in Docklands is always a good idea. The smell of the popcorn, great company, a couple of wines and a good show. Can’t go wrong. Last Saturday we went to see the ‘one night only’ Performance Management – In Cabaret. Presented by Shhhhh Produtions, Performance Management, described as “Horrible Bosses meets The Office” stars Scott Hollingsworth as a fabulous Ringmaster slash Manager, and pokes fun at the everyday challenges of a normal employer / employee relationship, comparing every office to, well, a circus. This show is not just funny, it’s fun. Performance Management capitalizes on on every possible ‘bad employee’ stereotype from the casual racist (I’m not racist but..), to the smoke-break bludger, the sick day champion and the person who told more than a few white lies on their resume. They’re all in there. The best part about this show as with most cabarets was the songs. Particularly if you can sing along. Not just to the songs adapted from Les Miserables, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid …

Dash and D’Bree Review

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Like O.M.G. These two ladies have come a long way from their Clap Rap, Glory Box days on Australia’s Got Talent. A classy-bogan duo of self-confessed ridicheads, Dash and D’Bree have brought their brand new rap cabaret – Fierce to the 2016 Melbourne Cabaret Festival (their first time at the Melbourne event) at popular arts hub ‘The Space’ in Prahran.  What is is about? Why being fierce of course. A word they hear a lot about from Tyra Banks and drag queens and stuff. Right? “Owning it. Working it. Strutting it. Loving it.”  Yeah? Dash and D’Bree break their version of Fierce into two key elements. The ‘inner fierce’ (for when you know, you are feeling great, confident), and the ‘outer fierce’…. when you just look good. The latter being the most important… of course. The show was super funny, had some catchy tunes and a smattering of cringe-worthy moments which made it a really fun night out. Hayley and Kat have a fantastic chemistry, and a fabulous ear for mash-ups with lyrics that initially …

Melbourne Cabaret Festival Review: Rouge Romantic, Serenades from a Delinquent Diva

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Having previously been along to see Torte e Mort: Songs of Cake and Death, at the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, we were pretty excited to get to see the world premiere of Anya Anastasia’s Rouge Romantic, Serenades from a Delinquent Diva at The Space in Prahran. A fantastic singer, talented musician and witty, quirky performer, Anya didn’t disappoint this time around. Although the show was different, a little shorter and with less set and costume changes, it was punchy, intimate and well, just gorgeous.  Switching between the two ‘alter-egos’ of, well, herself, Anya serenades her audience with songs born out of societal trends in love and romance the ups, downs and extremes of a woman’s passion when it comes to romance. The songs are funny, catchy, have the witty edge of a creative intellectual, paired with the voice of Kate Bush. We would have loved a tiny little bit more narrative, but this certainly didn’t dampen the experience at all. The Space is very intimate, and the audience interaction level in this show is high. …