Adelaide Fringe

Fringe Review: Black List Cabaret

Diversity at its most talented – Black List Cabaret gives its audience a taste of multiple genres from dance and song to comedy and cabaret, all from a fantastic line-up of artists of colour across the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

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Presented by Tandanya – National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
Reviewed 22 February 2020

Diversity at its most talented – Black List Cabaret gives its audience a taste of multiple genres from dance and song to comedy and cabaret, all from a fantastic line-up of artists of colour across the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

It is always going to be an entertaining show when the sassy Fez Faanana is around and at Black List Cabaret you get a whole buffet-full of the 2020 Adelaide Fringe Ambassador’s sassy humour and witty one-liners as she hosts the show. Luckily for the audience, Faanana also gives a sultry, glam burlesque performance for the audience alongside hosting the show. A highlight is her accompanying comedic Sesame Street-like muppet character who performs a humorous duet with the long-legged Faanana.

The show is also opened with a unique acknowledgement of country. The audience bears witness to mesmerising traditional Aboriginal dances performed in groups of men and then women and then fluidly together. Accompanying these dances is incredible didgeridoo playing from someone who has clearly been utilising the instrument for most of his life, reminding you of the beauty of the didgeridoo when played correctly and not by your mate having an attempt and failing miserably.

Depending which night you make it, you’ll receive a surprise with who’s performing as it’s not known before who you will witness. It could be a hilarious comedian with a Pakistani background who loves to poke fun at how white people cannot pronounce his name and how his background in accounting transformed, somehow, into the less reliable career of comedy (to his parents dismay). You might also be delighted by the smooth vocals of an experienced jazz singer who’s renditions will transport you back to a different era of life as you bogey in your seat. If you’re lucky you might just get to hear the jaw-dropping vocals from Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster which is selling out shows at the RCC. These students of the BAC Beatbox Academy at Battersea Arts Centre are London’s homegrown young collective of incredible vocalists that will have you mesmerised.

A fun way to spend 90 minutes full of colourful personalities, surprising talents and a refreshingly coloured stage – add Black List Cabaret to your Saturday night plans!

Reviewed by Georgina Smerd
Twitter: @Georgie_xox

Rating out of 5: 4 Diverse entertainment

Venue: Ngunyawayiti Space (Tandanya Theatre) at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide, 5000
Season: 29 February – 14 March 2020
Duration: 90 mins
Tickets:  $20
Bookings: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/black-list-cabaret-af2020?venue=166%3A1326

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