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Beginners Guide to the Melbourne Cabaret Festival

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melb cabaret fest

They grow up so fast, don’t they? It only feels like yesterday that I was attending one of the handful of shows on offer as part of the inaugural four-day Cabaret Festival back in 2010.   Now look at it, all mature with 150 performances, 16 venues and 12 nights of entertainment.

 

What is Cabaret?

Good question but hard to answer.FinalLogowhat

Trying to define cabaret is akin to trying to describe Chinese food. There are certain ingredients that are used to make cabaret, ingredients that are not exclusive to the genre, but when mixed and prepared in a certain way become recognisable.

If you get what I mean?

Cabaret has venues which are usually a little more intimate then a music gig and less formal than a theatre performance with food, drink and table seating. Cabaret is about entertainment with music, comedy, song, dance, drama, magic and art coming together – often within the same show. Most of all it is about having fun with variety and novelty key features.

Walk into a cabaret bar and you may find magic mixed with nudity, jazz standards being done honky-tonk or a cross dressing musical theatre performance.

What’s on at Melbourne Cabaret Festival?

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There are eight international acts including a founding member of The Supremes, Mary Wilson; heaps of local acts like  Vince Milesi and Michelle Brasier  performing A HIP HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY – a cabaret version of the Douglas Adam story set in hipster Melbourne and acts that are both local and international, namely harp player Tara Minton, born in Melbourne, living in England and here to pay tribute to Joni Mitchell.

Tribute performances are a key part of cabaret and feature heavily in this festival. Along with Joni, you will find shows based on Christine McViegh, Oprah Winfry, Adele, The Beatles (which I have been told includes a yodeling performance of Ob La Di, Ob La Da) and Charlie Chaplin, where 40 different characters from his films have been brought to life in what has been described as “part audio visual concept/part musical theatre”.

There is something for everyone with Mic Conway, where you can experience music, magic, storytelling and comedy all at the same time or you may prefer to skip the niceties and head to Tied Up where ‘Erotic tales and melancholy jazz entwine’. There are also a few shows on as part of the Melbourne Recital Centre’s American Songbook series, for those who are in to that type of thing.

Then again, maybe you would prefer to just see Cabaret: The Complete Unauthorised Biography, where Bradley McCaw will attempt to run through the whole spectrum and history of cabaret within a 60 minute period.

McGaw in action Photo from aussietheatre.com.au

McGaw in action
Photo from aussietheatre.com.au

Where abouts?

There are some truly spectacular venues involved in this festival. From the dazzling Butterfly Club to the classy interior of the Paris Lane Jazz Club, the venues are sure to impress as much as the performances. Tickets vary but are mostly around the $20-$40 mark with a bit more for the bigger names, however to get the full cabaret experience, be sure to book a table, order some canapés and relax with a few drinks.

butterfly club

The Butterfly Club
Photo from thebutterflyclub.com

The late-night parties?

All festivals need a late night party venue and the cabaret festival have done a good job on this front. You have the ‘Best Of The Fest’ for a mini gala-style show on at 10.30pm each night, the  late night piano bar for a rollicking New York style party or even  ‘Cabaretoke’, for a chance to be a star yourself

More information?

Check out the official website, the official blog or sign up to their twitter feed (and my twitter feed while you are there).

Enjoy the festival and drop us a line if you end up going to any of the shows or have any recomendations.



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