Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Meow Meow. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 18 Jun 2017
I have seen Meow Meow many times now and I'll go again for sure. While she's hurrying some man to fetch her reading glasses, or having another carry her prop sack, don't you just want to run up on stage and scratch her back, just to have her throw her head back and purr? Some of the schtick is still stuck on, like legging it over the audience with banter, making do with a personal fog machine or EXIT sign for lighting, and the tear-away copiously layered show biz gowns, but what's new - what is extraordinarily fabulous - is that she created this show just for little old Adelaide and the ghosts of Her Majesty's. True, she has tributed other theatres in other cities, so I am overwhelmed with gratitude that Adelaide also gets the Meow Meow treatment, and to have been in the presence of this rarity.
Meow Meow is a pretty attractive persona, but so is Melissa Madden Gray, a consummate entertainer and the creator of this fascinating feline. Gray did her research, citing a couple of city theatre war horses and the Performing Arts Collections as sources. She rounded out an historical narrative, starting with a painted backdrop (original design - Andrea Lauer) of the Tivoli Theatre of 1913, a prior name for Her Maj. A few recorded choruses of the traditional shanty, Bound For South Australia eventually saw the Tivoli disappear into the flyspace to reveal an orchestra lead by musical director Jherek Bischoff. A prow of a working boat of the colonial days decorated centre stage. All these colonial props were heartening, whereas the songs, also created by Meow Gray in collaboration with composers Bischoff and August von Trapp (could he really be the great grandson of the Captain and Agatha?), were fresh and lively and showed off Meow Meow's lush and variable voice. More of Lauer's design comprised slung parachute silk lit up with fairy lights to give the impression of ice for a tale and a song about the Terra and Erebus Antarctic expeditions, with hints to South Australian Antarctic explorers Wilkins and Mawson. Meow Gray, like myself, identified Adelaide as one of those end-of-the-earth places, and conjured a sense of adventure in constructing a theatre - making normal in an extraordinary remoteness.
A line-up of mainly pre-pubescent kids dressed firstly like Harlequins and later like the von Trapps formed up a show-stealing chorus. Each had their own style of star-waving and one young'un especially had other things on his mind. While he garnered peals of laughter in the final songs of the show, Meow Meow generously went along with the flow. Not enough time to learn all her lines - and where else could she do this show? Well, that was no problem either.
A superbly and richly researched script by Gray given over to Meow Meow for a full blown cabaret performance. Thanks for this gift. Bravo!
David Grybowski
When: 17 to 18 Jun
Where: Her Majesty's Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Groove Sessions. Dunstan Playhouse. 17 Jun 2017
A cappella groups are presented with the unique challenge of harnessing the power of voice, singing alone in harmony, without the support of instrumentation. There are many groups who achieve this, but The Idea of North is somewhat different in two significant respects. Firstly, a degree of serious, studied musicianship in their work surpassing other groups of repute. Secondly, a capacity to let humour play a role in their vocalised instrumentation; letting the artistry lead any comic novelty factor.
Bringing Japan’s Kaichiro Kitamura, greatly admired by the company, on as guest artist allowed The Idea of North to give full expression to both musicianship and technical artistry in pursuit of an emotionally driven narrative, discovering new levels of textural shade and depth in every single song.
This unity is made superbly clear as Kitamura takes the stage solo, fully demonstrating the sublime, profound complexity of his craft. Kitamura does not merely imitate the sound of a musical instrument. He expresses complex tonality as well. His slice of life in Japan begins with a bus in transit to an airport and a plane taking off, offering a three dimensional and emotive sensibility not encountered in performance before.
Add this approach to song, and you have something a little more significant than just being pitch-perfect. You hear four voices assuredly offering up groove with beautiful strains of jazz, dashes of funk and medleys of bygone eras.
More extraordinarily, is this group’s creation of, at times, lingering dualities of tone in between harmonic structures defying belief because you just know those notes, that expression, is beyond the expected.
Reaching warm and deeply into your ears and your contemplative heart.
David O’Brien
When: 17 Jun
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Lior, The Idea of North & Elena Kats-Chernin with Zephyr Quartet. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 18 Jun 2017
Hush 16 is the sixteenth instalment of an original children’s music series created by The Hush Foundation, in collaboration with Australian artists and composers.
The foundation, established in 2000, was created in response to Dr Crock’s work with children undergoing painful medical procedures at RCH Melbourne. The Hush albums are composed for use in hospitals and care facilities across the country, to ease the emotional toll of childhood disease on its young suffers, their families and the medical staff who care for them.
The Adelaide Cabaret Festival production of Hush 16 features the album’s writers: singer-songwriter, Lior, vocal quartet, The Idea of North, and composer, Elena Kats-Chernin. Joining them onstage are beat boxing aficionado Kaichiro Kitamura on vocal percussion and Adelaide’s own Zephyr Quartet on strings.
The concert has a relaxed and raw feel, with lovely vocal performances and touching spoken word pieces from local children. The songs are a mix of upbeat, indie-jazz tunes and calm, dreamy numbers. The standout track, Edgar’s Essay, features as both the opening and closing number and is deserving of the double showing. Written by Idea of North’s Naomi Crellin, it’s quirky, child-like lyrics are perfectly coupled with a groovy tune that appeals to all ages. Other highlights include Sticks and Stones, a beautiful vocal performance by Lior, and Growing Pains, written by Nick Begbie after being inspired by his 5-year old son.
The album is full of heartfelt and transportive music will no doubt continue the successful Hush lineage. The show itself is a worthy platform for promoting and celebrating both the album and its noble cause.
One cannot help but feel that being billed as appropriate for ages three and up does it a disservice, however. As a result of this suitability recommendation, the audience is a mix of older music aficionados and families with eager under 10s. Once the show commences though, it is very quickly apparent that it is not aimed at children. The songs are performed in a stripped back style, and are interspersed with dialog that sheds light on the music’s inspiration and the creative process, but does nothing to engage the smaller audience members. As an adult, the interludes leave the performance feeling slightly drawn out, so one can only imagine the struggle of the many fidgeting, restless pre-schoolers and their shushing carers.
All-in-all, an enjoyable concert for a great cause, featuring some of Australia’s most talented musical performers. Just leave the kids at home for this one.
Nicole Russo
When: 18 Jun 2017
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: Closed
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent. 17 Jun 2017
Drag, nationalism, popular culture nostalgia and politics; perfect Weimar cabaret period material for an era which seems to be going back to the future per those days, delivered with star dust laden show biz attitude blended perfectly with a strong undercurrent of ‘up yours!’
It’s Courtney Act dressed to the nines with a subtle yet obvious tilt to Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
Proud Aussie, Courtney relays tales of her journey to L.A., to learn, discover and understand what makes Trump’s America what is; to gift them with Aussie magic and celebrate Aussie culture. Not as easy as it looks. For that matter, Courtney doesn't let us off the hook either.
Kicking off with Olivia Newton John’s, Xanadu, and arriving on stage wearing sparkling red roller skates it is clear this show will take no prisoners - Australian or American.
There is feel good nostalgia as hits of the 80s such as Men At Work’s, Down Under is delivered along with a hilarious Sia sight gag, all mixed with a clear intention of exposing, with loving satire, the self-satisfied ease Australia with which views itself. This then coupled with condescending U.S. views of good ol’ Aussies.
In turn, Act enthusiastically relishes relaying confusion, surprise and, with a nothing-can-shock attitude, bizarre American tales.
A more vibrant, wickedly funny, and polished production one could not want for.
Musically it is no-holds-barred perfection. Courtney’s voice works the emotive and comic range of the song set impeccably, providing excellent transitions between sharp piss take satiric observations.
David O’Brien
When: 16 to 18 June
Where: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
Bookings: bass.net.au
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Peter Coleman-Wright & Nexas Quartet. Adelaide Festival Centre. 17 Jun 2017
Aussie opera baritone Peter Coleman-Wright won a 2002 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical (Gale Edward's production of Sweeney Todd), was once nominated for a Grammy, and has had a swag of operatic roles and recordings. Not exactly schooled in opera, his achievements were recognised with an honorary doctorate from the University of Melbourne and the hand in marriage of soprano Cheryl Barker.
For his two-day Cabaret Festival appearance, Coleman-Wright collaborated with the Nexas Quartet and put on a rather straight forward musical documentary on the Jewish diaspora fleeing the nascent Nazi government. He clearly honours and is in awe of this Weimar jazz legacy that Hitler so conveniently managed to spread around the globe, and he was especially interested in how Kurt Weill so successfully integrated American themes to keep the music fresh, after Weill took up residence in New York. I guess Weill had to do something after The Threepenny Opera closed on Broadway in 1933 after an unlucky 13 performances.
Composers In Exile is a musical history lesson, beginning with a female narrator and a handy map of Weimar Germany to lend context. The main talent - Hans Eisler, Arnold Schönberg, Robert Gilbert, Bertolt Brecht, Robert Stolz, Eric Korngold and others - are introduced by members of the quartet giving their biographies in first person. Coleman-Wright reserved Kurt Weill for himself. While the quartet members are virtuoso saxophonists, they are not actors and the flat vocal delivery dampened the proceedings.
Coleman-Wright chose songs illustrative of the political and social themes of the day, and they were always melodic and gentle. His nuanced and beautiful singing and the quartet's work deserved more applause from the tiny and shy audience. I have never seen such a small turn-up in the Dunstan Playhouse, ever, for any show.
An informative and entertaining night.
David Grybowski
When: 15 and 16 June
Where: Dunstan Playhouse
Bookings: Closed