Dragon Lady is a term used stereotypically to depict Asian female characters as strong, deceitful, domineering or mysterious women who always came to a sticky end. It is a name said to have been inspired by the characters played by Anna May Wong.
Get ready to break your routine with a taste of six early release shows – and some alluring new spaces – coming to this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival. In an Australian exclusive and premiere, global cabaret legend Ute Lemper will perform Rendezvous with Marlene for one night only at Thebarton Theatre that’s right people, we’re also at the Thebby this year! The German chanteuse and festival headliner creates magic on stage, re-living a three-hour telephone exchange she had with Marlene Dietrich in 1988. In another Australian first, award-winning immersive show The Swell Mob from the UK will transport audiences into an historical epoch filled with thieves, fogle-hunters, dandies and deception. Hailed “a perfectly bizarre, uncomfortable, unmissable show” (Broadway Baby), Flabbergast Theatre will perform throughout the festival’s 16 days and nights. Musical theatre performer and TV star Fiona Choi (The Family Law, The Let Down, Rent) brings to life the story of Hollywood’s first Chinese movie star and international style icon, Anna May Wong in Dragon Lady: The many lives and deaths of Anna May Wong. This intimate performance will provoke questions about cultural identity and ambition through sparkling musical numbers. Australian cabaret icon Paul Capsis will light up rock music’s dark side in Paul Capsis with Jethro Woodward and the Fitzroy Youth Orchestra at The Famous Spiegeltent (yes, another new cabaret venue… stay tuned!) The most gifted interpreter of song, Capsis belts out hits by artists including Patti Smith, TomWaits, Lana Del Ray, The Doors and Led Zeppelin. In a world premiere, Adelaide’s own award-winning choreographer LarissaMcGowan will perform Cher – exploring the persona and characters of the ultimate pop chameleon through contemporary dance. […]