On the edge and brutally funny, multi-award winning, Australian comedian, singer and writer Reuben Kaye needs little to no introduction, but we’re going to give him one because he deserves it.
Reuben is loud, politically active, queer, brash and after racking up millions of views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram plus appearances on Spicks and Specks, The Melbourne International Comedy Fest Galas (ABC), Celebrity Letters & Numbers (SBS) and in the UK, Channel 4 & BBC’s You’re Fired, Kaye is now the danger man to watch on the scene.
Returning to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival on its closing night, Reuben is bringing to Her Majesty’s Theatre his brand new show Engorged XXL.
Reuben spoke to Glam Adelaide about his Cabaret Festival show and the process he goes through when developing new works. Reuben is currently playing the role of King Herod in the smash-hit production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and we asked him what drew him to the production.
“As we all know, I’m a particularly religious man,” Reuben chuckled.
“Honestly, it’s an iconic show and there aren’t that many roles in musical theatre for someone like me. But Herod is one of the roles that really is perfect for me. So when they called me up and if I wanted to do Herod, It felt right. Then when I knew that it was designed by Tom Scott, who’s an incredible designer and has designed the new Broadway and West End productions of Cabaret, I was like, ‘Count me in’. And then when I saw the rest of the cast, I mean, come on! Mahalia Barnes, Javon King, Michael Paynter… I’m playing with some pretty huge powerhouses there. There is so much laughter backstage.”
Reuben is a staple part of our beloved Adelaide Cabaret Festival and he shared with us what cabaret and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival means to him.
“For me, cabaret has always been about pushing back, about terraforming a world that says you don’t belong. I think it’s about creating a world in which not only do you belong but you are celebrated. Cabaret has always been about tilting the lens through which you view the world and rebuilding it for the people who come after you. It is inherently queer but also inherently inclusive because there are no rules in cabaret. It’s everything. It’s the bastard art form. It’s comedy, it’s clown, it’s singing, it’s dance and it’s theatre.
“The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is one of the flagship festivals of Australia because it celebrates the misfits. When you look at the artistic scene globally, the Australian misfits lead the pack because of our individual and iconic worldview. We’re a country that kind of incubates its talent in isolation from the rest of the world and because of that we have an incredibly twisted view on the world. You can’t find it anywhere else.”
Over the years Reuben has brought us incredible shows – The Kaye Hole, Apokalipstick, and The Party’s Over. We were keen to hear the process Reuben goes through when writing something new; is it a long-time project, or do the ideas just flood from his mind?
“It’s a combination of the two. I have a long-form process where I write down notes and I write down the big parts of the story and the subject matter because I want to be able to talk about the world. I often have specific things that I want to raise but then I find that, for my brain, I have to have the fluidity and the immediacy to talk about the world as it changes. Shannon, my musical director – god love him – spends a lot of his time working with me and the music so I can change things up as and when they happen. Shows change night by night – anyone who’s seen something I’ve done knows this. I like to keep it fresh. This is where cabaret and theatre differ; there is an immediacy in cabaret and the fact that there’s a direct address where we’re talking to the audience. It’s in that moment that the best stuff happens. That’s when you’re really speaking truth to power, you’re really speaking for people and to people about the world as it happens in real time. There’s so much tension and magic there, and danger.”
Reuben Kaye’s hit show Engorged XXL promises to be bigger, longer, and thiccer than anything we’ve seen before.
“First and foremost, Engorged XXL is about music. It’s me with an 18-piece orchestra. There are original songs in there, covers, and songs you’ve never heard me sing before.Then there are the original songs from shows that we haven’t yet brought over here. Of course there will be some fabulous costumes, even if I do say so myself. Then of course, signature Ruben Kaye: lap invading, a healthy dose of comedy. When the programming team said to me, ‘Have a night!’ I can’t tell you how quickly I went, ‘Right, this is how it’s gonna be. I’m gonna put pen to paper, I’m gonna make something big.’ I have created something fabulous, something perhaps a little bit sensitive and beautiful, which people don’t often get to see with me, and I’m going to rip the roof off Her Majesty’s Theatre. This festival has given me so much and if I can give back in any way, I certainly will be. By the closing of the festival everyone is going to be full of wine and cheese boards and then here I come to take it all home.”
Bring eye drops – you won’t want to blink and miss a second of his star power.
Engorged XXL
Her Majesty’s Theatre
Saturday 21 June, 2025
7.30pm
https://cabaret.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/reuben-kaye-engorged-xxl
Photo credit: Claudio Raschella
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