THE 2008 ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL
THE SECOND REPORT


Reported by Bill Stephens

The second week of the 2008 Adelaide Cabaret Festival commenced strongly with every one the 14 shows on offer for the Wednesday night, completely sold out, due partly as a response to the popular "Bring a Friend Free" initiative sponsored by Adelaide legal firm, Minter Ellison. But if Wednesday night was busy, the demand for tickets didn't let up, and extra shows were scheduled for the final Sunday.

Among the highlights in the second week was gamin-faced French songstress Belle dy Berry who had performed in the 2004 Adelaide Cabaret Festival as the lead singer of the popular band, Paris Combo. This year she was in much more intimate mode. Accompanied by her long time associate, multi-instrumentalist and composer, David Lewis, and double-bassist, Denis Henault-Parizel, du Berry, with her crystal clear voice, presented a deliciously piquant program of original songs entitled "Invisibles et Parfumes". Gentle, captivating, and couched in fascinating soundscapes produced by the trio, the beautifully written songs spoke of mermaids, animal's feelings, outer space and magic spirits.

Elena Roger was the first Argentinean to play Evita on the West End stage. Perhaps surprisingly, she chose to present, for her first Adelaide appearance, "Querido Tango", a clever, tongue-in-cheek history of the tango, which she had devised with dancer Zenon Recalde and pianist Juan Estaban Cuacci, both of whom joined her on stage to present the show.

It turned out to be a witty device which allowed Roger to reveal a whole bag of tricks, including the fact that she is, no slouch as a tango dancer, a cheeky comedienne who could bring a new twist to Tom Lehrer's "Masochism Tango", and an exceedingly fine singer.

One would have thought that everything that could have been said about Judy Garland has been said. However, having come to terms with being the daughter of the legendary performer, Lorna Luft has embraced her heritage and devised a moving cabaret which celebrates her mother's legacy in the most appropriate way.

Luft's stage demeanor is open and friendly, and she establishes immediate rapport with her audience. Backed by a classy 10 piece band, conducted from the piano by her husband and musical arranger, Colin Freeman, Luft commenced her act with a series of musical references to her own considerable theatrical accomplishments during which she includes two songs by her late brother-in-law, Peter Allen.

Then, using the clever device of describing the career of their grandmother to her two children, represented by voice-overs, Luft sings an extended medley of songs forever associated with Garland, and the act moves into truly memorable territory. It could have been mawkish, but Luft has learnt her lessons well, and her ability to 'sell' the big songs in the Garland manner, and bring impressive tenderness to the more gentle ballads, was rewarded with standing ovations at her three sold-out performances during the festival.

One of Australia's most accomplished and respected musicians, pianist/composer Paul Grabowsky has presented musical collaborations in each of the last seven Adelaide Cabaret Festivals. This year, working with the winner of the 2007 Bell Award for Best Australian Jazz Vocalist, Megan Washington, and a group of hand-picked musicians, Grabowsky presented a program of original songs written by himself and Washington under the title "Spiders and Silkworms".

Although still only 21 years old, Washington is already an exciting and individualistic singer. Her voice has an exquisite, misty timbre and her phrasing and timing are arresting. Add to this a quietly magnetic stage persona and the ability to write ear-catching lyrics, and you have someone who has the ability to become a major singer, she certainly proved one of the more exciting discoveries as this year's festival.

Marie Angel is not especially well-known in her native Australia; however she has had an impressive career, majorly in contemporary opera, in Europe. Laboring under the clumsy title, "Till the Fat Lady Sings - It Ain't Over" Angel's cabaret act offered an abstract musical biography which somewhat uncomfortably combined snippets of obscure operatic arias from composers such as Debussy, Mahler, and Wagner, with popular songs like Bert Kaempfert's "Strangers in the night" and Roberta Flack's "Killing me Softly with his Song" . Ultimately the program proved too rich and fragmented to hold the attention of the audience or to really do the artist justice.

A more successful bio-show came from Sally Bourne who had commenced her professional career in 1978 playing the title role in "Annie". Bourne went to London to pursue career opportunities and found herself appearing in "Jesus Christ Superstar ", "Les Miserables and in the original cast of "Jerry Springer - The Opera". All these experiences proved fertile ground for a delightfully self-deprecating cabaret called "The Sally Bourne Identity", packed full of wicked original songs with titles like "Don't You Know Who I Think I Am", "Crap at Relationships" and "Celebrity Mummy".

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival has never confined its view of cabaret as necessarily being song driven, and this year's program contained some interesting examples of alternate cabaret formats.

"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", was presented by British theatre group 1927 . The cast of four performers, brilliantly utilised elements of dada, film projection, interactive animation and live performance, to perform a seamless procession of fractured fairy-tales, ranging through stories concerning the nine graphic deaths of a hapless cat, gun-toting gingerbread men, dead grandmothers and little girls playing at being homeless crack whores, all performed to unnervingly atmospheric music played live by a pianist in gothic garb and white face, and elegantly perverted prose, recited by founder, Suzanne Andrade, "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", reminiscent as it was of silent films, but as modern as tomorrow, was a wonderfully surreal and cleverly executed piece which defied categorization, but proved to be as entertaining as it was bizarre.

In a not dissimilar vein, The Umbilical Brothers in their show "Please Explain", which ran for a year off-Broadway, make brilliant use of mime, acrobatics and sound effects, to create an imaginative world full of adventure where anything can happen. Grenade-retrieving dogs, persistent barbecue flies and unfortunate horses all find their way into this tightly choreographed, highly original and seriously funny mix of mime and live audio-acrobatics.

Another genuinely funny show was provided by Fiona Scott-Norman who in her tellingly entitled presentation, "The Needle and the Damage Done", treats her audience to some selections from her collection of what are possibly the worst vinyl albums every made. As unlikely as it seems that listening to grabs from someone's record collection could be even mildly entertaining, discounts Scott-Norman's brand of acerbic wit, particularly when her examples are illustrated with some incredibly eye-popping examples of vinyl album cover art.

Several ensembles were highlighted during the festival including the four virtuoso musicians who make up Paprika Balkanicus and who come from Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. They communicate their passion with a fiery blend of traditional and Gypsy music played on violin, guitar, double bass and accordion. Between numbers, violinist, Bogdan Vacarescu addressed the audience in a style of sophisticated fractured English that is was hilarious as it was informative, but it was their brilliant arrangements, virtuoso musicianship and obvious enjoyment of each other's music, that set this ensemble apart.

A completely different ensemble, a comic invention named The Kransky Sisters hail from country Queensland. Eve, Maude and Dawn, Kransky are somewhat reminiscent of the spooky madness of The Adams Family, as they perform cover songs ranging from ACDC and the Bee Gees to Grace Jones, Split Enz and The Wiggles, on keyboard, musical saw and tuba.

Between songs, the siblings bicker constantly but charm their audience with their combination of superbly droll comic dialogue about their travels, curious relationship and blinkered attitudes. It is an act that is original, entertaining and memorable.

Four vocalists, Kaye Tuckerman, Julia Zemiro, Colin Lane and Dale Pengelly , backed by a seven piece band, sang and danced their way through a selections of some of Mancini's best known movie music in a show called "Two for The Road - the music of Henry Mancini" which proved so popular that an extra performance had to be to the program.

Of course, part of the fun of being at the festival is the opportunity it provides meeting with the artists and other cabaret enthusiasts, at the end of each day. - There is no spare time between shows - and the Kool Kat Festival Club where each night a different party band is showcased, and where admittance is free on the production of a ticket to any of the shows, provides the perfect environment.

Once again the 2008 Adelaide Cabaret Festival proved to be an embarrassment of riches. Try as I might, I was only able to see 21 of the 36 acts on offer, so my reports reflect my own personal highlights. Dates for the 2009 festival have already been announced, June 5 - 20th, so there is plenty of time to start planning your trip down under. See you there.

Bill Stephens

Full details of the program on http://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com/

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