Thursday 2 August 2012

Mademoiselle, Michael Dalley, Aug 1, 2012 ***


Written by Michael Dalley, co-created by Michael Dalley & Paul McCarthy, music by Michael Dalley & John Thorn
At fortyfivedownstairs,  Aug 1 to 19, 2012
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on Aug 1
Stars:**

 Michael Dalley & Paul McCarthy

IF YOU'VE EVER LOATHED A BOSS or been bullied by a manager, the acerbic, seething resentment of
Michael Dalley and Paul McCarthy’s sneering, mincing servants will raise a sour grin.

Mademoiselle, like Dalley’s previous cabaret shows, features perky, old-fashioned tunes played by pianist John Thorn, and Dalley’s social satire and caustic lyrics that, in this show, attack the privileged, the upwardly mobile and the bosses.


The show starts like a rocket with Dalley and McCarthy dressed to the nines in tuxedos and sporting synthetic, platinum wigs and perpetual sneers as they attack their wealthy boss, in the derisive tune, Mademoiselle.

These bickering old queens unite in their scathing mockery of the rest of the world, singing such corrosive and outrageous songs as, Other People’s Rubbish, The Nasty Queen from Menswear, The Table Manners of the Petit Bourgeoisie, The German and the Choirboy and The Passive-Aggressive Filipino Amway Lady (a barely disguised Rose Porteous caricature).

After a truly rollicking and hilarious first 30 minutes the show stalls, the songs and lyrics are less successful and the characters lose their momentum.

The latter half feels under-rehearsed and the arc of the story of these characters is unclear.

 What is missing is a stronger ending song, tighter dialogue in the second half and a bigger finish that perhaps reincorporates their attitude to Mademoiselle, their off-stage nemesis.

By Kate Herbert


This review published  in Herald Sun on Mon Aug 6 

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