Give 'em the old razzle dazzle — The 2025 Cabaret Festival has opened!
Presented by: Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed: 5 June, 2025
A year is a long time between glasses of Corryton Burge sparkling, but the 2025 Cabaret Festival is finally here and has been heralded in with the 2025 Variety Gala.
The Variety Gala is an incredible taste of the buffet of shows that are on offer over the three weekends of the Cabaret Festival. It is a wonderful chance to see a snippet of an act — and then buy tickets to see it. However, don’t wait too long as many shows across the program have sold our or are close to selling out.
Hosted by the Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s chief mischief maker and artistic director, Virginia Gay, the Gala introduced eleven artists who feature across the festival. Bursting from a giant cake, Virginia Gay opened proceedings with a re-worked cover of P!nk’s 2001 hit Get This Party Started, packed with more Cabaret references than you could keep up with (thanks to additional lyrics from Gillian Cosgriff and Richard Carroll). The energy was as high as Gay is tall and it very quickly put the audience into party mode.
The sensational Davina and the Vagabonds was the first act for the evening. As Gay described, “If Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse had a baby in the middle of a New Orleans street parade, you’d get Davina and the Vagabonds” — the most accurate description. Performing a hilarious number, Start Running, Davina, along with Becca Lozier on trumpet and Matthew Hanzelka on trombone, had the entire audience dancing in their seats and looking on in sheer amazement at their incredible musicality.
Natalie Abbott brought the house down with Help / Being Alive. Abbott’s stunning voice was packed with emotion and drove a strong narrative throughout her performance. Abbott will be premiering her brand new show Bad Hand at this year’s Cabaret Festival.
Thomáš Kantor brought sass and cheek by glittery bucket-loads with Abracadabra from their Cabaret Festival show, Sugar. Kantor’s energy and choreography was matched by their powerful voice. It did make you question if the human body could actually do some of their dance moves whilst singing!
The much loved Victoria Falconer gave us insight into her late-night show, The Parlour. Falconer has a magical ability to connect with each individual member of an audience through her warm, funny and witty personality. Not only an incredible vocalist, Falconer is an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist. During her short performance, she jumped between violin, musical saw, accordion, piano and theremin.
Rounding out act one was vocal powerhouse Rizo. Her powerful voice with its trademark gravel cut through in the number Song of Freedomfrom her show Home. A crowd favourite at the Cabaret Festival in 2023, it is no surprise that her two performances at this year’s festival are close to selling out.
Australian music industry royalties, Vika & Linda Bull set the bar high for the start of act two. Their performance of Feeling Good from their show An Evening with Vika & Linda certainly packed a punch. Their exquisite vocal blend quickly had the audiences in the palm of their hands. What voices!
At 82 years young, Carlotta showed no signs of ever leaving the spotlight, and why should she? Carlotta is an absolute living legend. Her wit and banter is still as sharp as ever and her performance of I’m Still Herequickly reminded everyone why she is the queen of Cabaret. Following her performance, Virginia Gay awarded Carlotta the 2025 Cabaret Icon award — and rightly so. Very limited tickets remain to Carlotta’s Cabaret Festival show The Party’s Over — don’t miss this one!
Michelle Brasier is known for her brilliant and hilarious songs and stand up, and Young Love in the Summertime from her Cabaret Festival show Average Bear quickly had the audiences in fits of laughter. Brasier’s second show at this year’s Cabaret Festival is the ever popular Comedians on Stage Auditioning for Musicals — get what tickets you can to this!
Class of Cabaret has been the foundation for so many up and coming Cabaret stars of the future. This program is the legacy of David and Lisa Campbell and offers year 11 and 12 students the chance to create their own five-minute cabaret act under the guidance of mentors from the industry. 2024 class graduate Noah Byrne presented a snippet from his cabaret act from last year. At just 18 years old, Byrne is showing great promise in the world of cabaret and this reviewer cannot wait to see what is in store for this young superstar.
Our two Tired Ass Showgirls, Seann Miley Moore & Brendan de la Hay slayed with their duet That’s Life. Their cheek, warm vocals and superb harmonies were clearly enjoyed by all. These two are exceptional performers in their own right, but together, they are a tour-de-force.
The divine Jess Hitchock captivated the audience with a stunning rendition of Feels Like Home, which will feature in her Cabaret Festival show Trio. For the Gala, Jess was joined by Michelle Brasier and Victoria Falconer on backing vocals. However, for Trio, Jess will be featured alongside Fanny Lumsden and Alice Keath.
The 2025 Variety Gala was supported by an incredible live band under the expert musical direction of Shanon D Whitelock, who also featured on piano. The band included an incredible line up of South Australia’s best musicians, including Ciara Ferguson (keyboards), Liam Garcia-Hardman (guitars), Nick Sinclair (bass), John McDermott (drums), Ruby Mensforth (Trombone), Josh Chenoweth (Trumpet), Vashti Tyrell (Tenor Saxophone / Flute) and Jack Degenhart (Alto Saxophone / Clarinet).
The Variety Gala only scratches the surface of what is on offer over the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Dive into the program and snap up the last remaining tickets to these incredible shows. Bling it on!
Reviewed by Ben Stefanoff
Photo credit: Naomi Jellicoe
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Season: ended
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