Adelaide Fringe

Fringe Review: Bad Luck Cabaret

By Brian Godfrey

Posted on February 27, 2017

Presented by Laurie Black
Reviewed 24^th February 2017

Gluttony’s Spiegel Zelt (literally ‘mirror tent’) is the perfect venue for a 10:30 pm dose of eclectic alternative cabaret. The European decadence of its stained glass, mirrors, and red plush velvet booths feels just right. The show’s presenter is lively, willowy Londoner, Laurie Black. She wears black tights, black string-strap top and huge platform shoes boldly striped in yellow and black. Her shoes match her dreads. Black’s cheery patter urges us to participate with rehearsed vocal responses, in classic cabaret fashion, but because the audience is so small, her task is immensely difficult. She persists, gamely, throughout the show.

Black’s show format gives her the lion’s share of the work, with two feature spots each night for other Fringe performers. Tonight’s guest artists are Dolly Diamond and Frankly Winehouse, giving the whole show a distinctly British flavour. Laurie Black’s performance includes an introductory rap (“We are the bad luck generation”), and four original songs which she sings while accompanying herself on keyboard. Her voice is serviceable; the lyrics are neatly crafted and witty. Her music is the least successful element, with predictable harmonies and a melodic range of six notes or less. She sings about getting lucky, falling in love with her piano, and her affection for alcohol. She bravely teaches the chorus to her Me And My Piano song to the audience, and insists that we sing it with her. All thirteen of us. We do our best.

Dolly Diamond’s set is brisk, brusque and strong. She’s a vision in a black-lace-over-red-satin frock, shiny red stilettos and too much tasteless jewellery. Drag is only part of her fun; she’s rewritten the lyrics to such old chestnuts as Love Is In The Air and Que Sera, Sera, to make waspish, wittily vicious social comment. Yes, a drag artist who sings… hooray! She’s hugely entertaining, but underneath it all, there’s a fierce defence against bigotries of all kinds.

Black’s other guest artist is Frankly Winehouse. Ashleigh Kreveld is a reverent Amy Winehouse in towering black wig, a black-and-white polka-dot dress with circle skirt, and industrial quality eye-liner. She sings, Back To Black, Rehab, and I Heard Love Is Blind. She has a great voice, excellent command of vocal texture, and a real actor’s skill to tell the story of a song. Between songs, she chats in desultory Winehouse fashion (and accent). It’s a clever, neatly-constructed character which she plays with affectionate intelligence.

And now, back to Laurie Black, our hostess. With a bigger audience, she would have had a far easier night. With a less abstemious audience than ours, she would have been better able to play that drinking game she plotted into her show. Black was clearly expecting a boozier, cheerier, more numerous audience. May they arrive soon.

Reviewed by Pat. H. Wilson

Rating out of 5: 3 – Courageous

Venue: Spiegel Zelt at Gluttony
Season: 17^th – 18^th February, 24^th – 25^th February, 3^rd – 4^th March, 7^th march, 10^th – 12^th March, 14^th March, 17^th – 18^th March
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $10 – $20