Presented by Sparkle Society
Reviewed 26 February 2022
Hired by a local killjoy, Private Investigator, Dick Johnson, is on a mission to infiltrate the notorious Cabaret Suave and put those sinful dames out of business. To do so, the PI DI must gain the trust of Ember, Trance, Baby and Mel to uncover the dirt and rid the neighbourhood of their no-good, wicked influence.
To do so, PI DI hangs around the 1920s Cab Suave, complete with sexy sequined outfits, sultry siren voices and circus tricks galore. Ember is, as her name suggests, literally hot. Not only does she show off her fire juggling and eating skills, but she’s quite the hand with hoops. Baby is a Betty Boop lookalike in her baby-pink leotard who’s an accomplished trapeze artist, twirling high above the audience. Trance earns her stage name with an entrancing singing voice, treating the audience to great renditions of Fever (while Ember twirls firesticks) and Criminal, amongst others. Mel, the ‘club owner’ is another acrobat who can perform a backbend while allowing another performer to use her as a stepping stool.
As for the PI DI, he eventually concludes that to truly be ‘in’, he needed to contribute to the show. And what was missing from this otherwise complete circus cabaret show but juggling? The PI DI started out somewhat shakily with juggling a set of balls, then moved onto batons. I counted three drops in this set which had thankfully disappeared by the time he moved on to juggling knives whilst balancing at the top of a ladder. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, by show’s end, the PI DI had turned the tables on his curmudgeonly client to join the gals at Cab Suave.
Overall, this was a fun circus cabaret show, the small tent added a cosy atmosphere (a bit too cosy on a warm evening with firesticks), and the crew maintained the party atmosphere throughout. It’s not one of the big-name Fringe circuses and perhaps not as polished as you’d expect of those shows but for a smaller price, it’s a great sampling of some talented circus and cabaret performers. It’s pretty much family friendly (ignoring a smattering of sexual innuendo) and can be enjoyed by all ages. The finale was especially upbeat with everyone in gold sequins, singing, juggling and contorting along to A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.
Reviewed by Samantha Bond
Twitter: @SamStaceyBond
Venue: Ukiyo at Gluttony
Season: 1-20 March 2022
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $30-40
Bookings: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/cab-suave
Rating out of 5: 4
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