CABARET/BURLESQUE
Created by Finucane & Smith
At Trades Hall Ballroom until Sat 19 Oct 2024 (7pm & 9pm on 18th & 19th)
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 19 Oct 2024. KH
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| Moira Finucane -FRINGE_LOWRES_@MAXROUX |
If you’ve always wanted to see a Finucane & Smith burlesque show, Global Smash Club is the one to see! But it’s only on this weekend, and if you’re sensitive to sexual references, content, nudity or explicit language, stay home.
Global Smash Club is risqué bordering on erotica, glamorous sometimes tilting into parody or even kitsch, and confronting with an occasional edge of danger.
Moira Finucane is the pulsating heart of this eclectic burlesque line-up and this 20th anniversary show features several of her audacious, eccentric pieces: the Milk Queen who generously sprays her bottles of milk, her hilariously chauvinist yobbo, and the soup eater who sensually splashes her tomato passata over her white gown.
Many of the acts are classic burlesque: cheeky, mischievous characters in flamboyant costumes that are often stripped off, simple but naughty narratives, lots of full-frontal female nudity, some simulated sexual action, and occasional confronting engagement with the audience. This includes the front row cowering under umbrellas and plastic picnic tablecloths to avoid being showered with milk.
Maude Davey thrills the excited crowd with several outrageous characters and wild songs, the wildest being Am I Ever Going to See Your Face Again complete with the shouting audience responding, “No way! Get fucked! Fuck off!” as they did for the The Angels in the ‘80s.
My heart sings when I see Yumi Umiumare in anything. She enters in a red kimono, moving slowly with grace and beauty, then reveals the Samurai below, then the Ninja below that, and finally a scrap of costume that leaves her near-naked, but never vulnerable.
An exceptional piece is a fiercely parodic take on Hello Kitty with Umiumare, Finucane and Davey wearing cutesy Hello Kitty, fluffy, pink and white costumes, but the tone becomes darker when Umiumare transforms into a grotesque, masked feline that terrorises of the crowd.
Burlesque queen Imogen Kelly emerges in a magnificent swirl of hooped white lycra that transforms with a twist into a Dior gown, a Melbourne Cup hat or a floating tent. She later reappears as a sassy, begowned and bearded gal in a saucy strip routine.
Other acts are more serious such as Mama Alto singing a jazz-inflected ballad, Xiao singing a personal lament and a guest duet by Yorta Yorta Taungurung Wiradjuri elder, Glynnis Briggs and country star, Ian Muir.
Finucane & Smith’s transgressive, bold and dangerous style has endured 20 years longer than its critics predicted 20 years ago. Squeeze it into this weekend if you can. It is wild and eye-opening!
NB: Many of the acts are 5 stars, but a few pieces are not at the same standard. That brings the show’s overall rating down, unfortunately. K
by Kate Herbert
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| Yumi Umiumare (back)-FRINGE_LOWRES_@MAXROUX |
Creative Team
Featuring a cascade of stars across the season:
Queen of Provocative Variety & Empress of Burlesque Bizarre MOIRA FINUCANE
Performance Art Legend MAUDE DAVEY
Butoh goddess of dark fever dreams YUMI UMIUMARE
The voice of angels MAMA ALTO
Las Vegas crowned Queen of Burlesque IMOGEN KELLY
Astonishing Starlet ZITAO DENG
Uber cello virtuoso XIAO XIAO
NO Risque club kitten IVA ROSEBUD
Yorta Yorta Taungurung Wiradjuri elder multi-faceted artist Glynnis Briggs and country star Ian Muir.
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