Presented by the Feast Festival
Reviewed 21 November 2014
A cabaret show in a library? Who’d have thought?
On Friday night, the Mt Barker Community Library was transformed into a nightclub, albeit with a few more books lying around, for the arrival of South Australian cabaret star Georgia Darcy.
Darcy has been described as Liza Minelli and Edith Piaf rolled together into one fabulous, powerful package. Other titles include “One Perspective of the Source Energy of Creation,” but that’s a bit existential for the moment.
Anyway, Georgia Darcy is a powerhouse, seemingly popping out of nowhere (the relative obscurity of Victor Harbor). Her story is one that many could probably relate to, losing her sense of self after the age of seven and discovering it again at forty. Darcy escaped the rat race of life to enter the glitzy world of cabaret. She was inspired along the way by a series of crushes (on older women) and finally the love of her wife, Louise Lawson.
Darcy’s show, Georgia with a G, is a glamorous little shindig that is actually quite intimate. Throughout the show you not only get some pretty deep insights in Darcy’s life, love and dreams, but also get to enjoy her stories and songs as if she were performing them just to you. Darcy has an air of carefree charisma that makes her seem approachable and friendly, but she is also witty and confident, perfect for a cabaret gig.
Darcy was joined by her wife who appeared between acts in a little French maid outfit. She flustered about the stage in a hilarious comedy sketch involving underpants and a vacuum cleaner. While I’m no big fan of slapstick or physical comedy, somehow Lawson’s energetic (and maybe a little crude) gags made me laugh quite a bit. Matthew Carey joined the pair on piano, providing nice tunes but an ultimately bland performance.
While her show features the same line-up of almost worn-out cabaret songs, Darcy keeps things fresh with her uniquely queer take on things and fantastic sense of humour, for example, turning Mein Herr into Mein Claire. She has a great singing voice that may not be as developed as some of the more experienced cabaret artists out there, but she still manages to hit all the right notes and remain steady throughout the performance.
What makes her performance special however, is not her great singing, but her wit and storytelling ability. Each little interlude is much longer than the song preceding it, but I never really cared. It was incredibly interesting to get into Georgia with a G’s head, while also being on a side-splittingly funny ride to boot. She can be a little raunchy, yes, but that’s all part of the celebration. Georgia Darcy loves what she does and wants to share it with the world!
Georgia with a G is a hilarious show by some great local talent, proving that it doesn’t matter what type of venue it is held in, Darcy will rock it anyway.
Reviewed by James Rudd
Venue: Mt Barker Community Library, Dumas St, Mt Barker
Season: 21 November 2014 only
Duration: 90 minutes
The Feast Festival runs from 15 – 30 November 2014.
Photo Credit: Avalon City Imaging
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