The Pageant | The Beryls
Roger Seahorse, played by Laura Trennery, was a stiff, wide-eyed dork of a man, clad in a bedazzled pale blue suit. He was timid but endearing and practically plastic with fake tan and glowing white teeth. Victoria Beauvoir, played by Patrick Dwyer, was lush, larger than life, suggestive and sexually available in a shimmery gown and a cloud of blonde curls. Both characters were extreme, almost demonic, caricatures of pageant hosts. The footlighting cast shadows across their faces that twisted their white smiles.
Coterie Cabaret
If I had only one word to describe Coterie Cabaret, it would undoubtedly be sexy! Coterie is a celebration of human bodies and all the kinky ways that they connect. This is not a show for the prude, and you will leave with a new checklist of kinks to try!
Absolute Trash | Glitter Martini
Each one of the circus acts was incredibly well-polished and a real pleasure to watch. These are circus artists with a truckload of experience under their belt, performing some quite technical tricks that had me mesmerised from the very first to the very last moment.
Shanty Club | The Salty Sirens
There’s such a power to communal singing. When a large group of people can come together with a similar interest and sing in union, whether you think you’re a good singer or not, it feels special joining in on the choruses and sharing in the collective voice. Elyse and Kristy have that understanding and knew how to get the audience engaged as they built up to the final shanty which allowed members of the crowd to come up with their own lyrics for us all to sing along to.
Coterie Cabaret
The show is cheeky without being immature. Sexual acts and fetishes are truly celebrated, rather than used for a cheap joke. You may find this one a bit challenging if you’re adverse to exploration, liberation, diversity, and... packets of condoms being thrown into the audience. And honestly, if that’s you, I dare you to go.
Bigger & Blacker | Steven Oliver
Accompanied by Helpmann-Award winner Michael Griffiths on piano, the duo titillated the audience with their ‘naughty’, fun, original score. The spicy banter between Michael and Steven was nothing short of sensational, making them a formidable duo on stage.
Add a disco ball to the mix and you have a flawless match made in heaven!
The Underground Hour | Claire Owen & performers
As they share their story of coming together, they dance and sing their way through a great range of classic show tunes and contemporary commercial hits. The fourth wall be damned, they performed directly to us, sharing their story and all of themselves. They love the audience as much as we love them, and crave our adulation. And we were more than happy to give it to them.
The Underground Hour | Claire Owen & performers.
The Underground Hour - a crowd-pleasing, glittery cabaret that harks back to times of feathers and Frank Sinatra. If you like your performers giving you all they’ve got and your showtunes to go up a key to hit a big finish, then this is the show for you. Big talent, big energy and a full house almost burst the seams of the small underground bar, Brooklyn Standard, in Brisbane’s CBD. Someone give these people a big band and a wall of lights. They deserve it.
Dream a Little Dream | For the Record #17
Hosts Maja and Siobhan are fresh and natural fronting the night and bring what they like to call ‘chaotic MCing’ to keep us entertained between acts. Their effortless banter and truly random segues alone would have me coming back month after month. Even if Siobhan’s penis hands will haunt until my dying days.
Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
Apocalipstick used drag and gender-fuckery to engage the audience through laughter, the absurd, and the excess. There is nothing better to make someone think about serious issues than to make them laugh! Laughter sits with you in a light vein and it makes you come back to the funny sketch again and again looking for one more laugh. Drag invites laughter by highlighting the contradictions of gender through the excess: hoping for a fuck, office tape and markers become the perfect beauty tools for a face-lift and make-up, and thin-glass toxic masculinity is the weapon of the man looking for acceptance in the wolf pack.
Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
Apocalipstick really, truly deserves to be seen. It made me laugh out loud - repeatedly. It’s visceral messages will blow you away. It’s an ultimate feast for the senses. It’s nuanced delivery is nothing short of outstanding. It’s what makes Brisbane even more special.
Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
Wow wow wow. I feel like my eardrums have just been given a delightful, melodic pounding. Songs My Aunties Taught Me is part opera, part beatboxing, part comedy, and one hundred percent remarkable. This first collaboration between songstress Heru Pinkasova and the beatboxing, drumming Dr Rhythm is a melodious fusion of two very different art forms, which tells the stories of influential women in Heru’s life; both her mother and aunties, and the great women of colour who sang before her.
Dionysus | Tom Oliver Productions
What kind of show has us singing along to a gospel song one moment and gawking at a hyper realistic stiff plastic cock in the next? A fringe-festival renegade cabaret, that’s what!
Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
The interactions between Aunty Heru and Jonny Drama brings out a humorous side to the show and the chemistry between them is endearing as it feels like they have both known each other for a long time and that they have toured lengthy with this show despite it being their first. As talented as Heru is with her voice, Jonny’s beatboxing skills are similarly impressive.
Chameleon | Karen Lee Roberts
There are many moments I feel swept away by the honesty of living her experience throughout the entire show – particularly the scene where she acts out the consequences of going off meds including a full blown episode involving her partner. Alexandra pleads for help whilst portraying what it’s like to experience the fear of abandonment and confusion caused by changes to her brain chemistry. This was deeply raw and personal and an effective mechanism to flush out any remaining judgment the audience might have.
Creepy Cabaret | EC Venue and Damien Cassidy
Creepy Cabaret is just that - a tale of fake blood, puppets and blow up dolls, and a homage to sex (or lack of) complete with a twist on risking the status quo. It’s a great show and producer Damien Cassidy has pulled together a diverse international stellar cast in the one room.
By Request | Jenny Wynter
Jenny and Angie Wynter made a great team. I assumed they had set rhythms of songs they were going to perform and then Jenny improvised the lyrics. Her talent as a professional singer shone through, unbelievable that she could sing so beautifully and be constructing lyrics at the same time. I fully expected to see smoke coming out of her ears, that’s how fast her brain appeared to be working.
One Bottle Later | The Good Room
Following Covid-safe distancing and hand-held signs directing us not to speak, we entered into a magical space. The room was beautifully lit by Jason Glenwright with waiters dancing around and making sure everyone was looked after. I felt like I was transported in time to a 1920’s nightclub. The attention to detail was delightful.
Common People Dance Eisteddfod | Common People Dance Project
Through sheer force of will and an encyclopedic knowledge of 80s choreography, Neridah has created the impossible – the dance off to end all dance offs that citizens from all sides of river and all walks of life could enjoy. Comprising of at least seven choreographed routines, three celebrity judges, over 100 performers and a competition where cheating is encouraged, it became the hottest ticket in town.