A Response: All That Glitters and Cheeky Cabaret

A response to the opening night shows of the Auckland Cabaret Festival, resident at The Civic Theatre for the next fortnight.

Another cabaret festival means, thankfully, another opening night gala. This year’s gala, All That Glitters, directed by cabaret (and otherwise) legend Jennifer Ward-Lealand provided a buffet on what’s on offer across the next two weeks of the festival, a little bit circus, a little bit burlesque, and a lot of pretty damn good singing. Luke Bird at his most sparkly and highest volume moved the show along swiftly as an MC with minimal faff. 

Tomáš Kantor performed an excerpt from Sugar, a cabaret from Daffodils playwright Ro Bright, about an aspiring sugar baby, and was immediately winning. The excerpt, a medley of Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and what sounded to my ears like an interpolation of Phantom of the Opera was immediately appealing. Daffodils remains one of my all-time shows, so the long awaited return of Bullet Heart Club to New Zealand shores is a welcome one, and 

The Caluzzi Girls come in with maybe the best goodwill an act can have, helped along by the fact that Anita Wig’lit may very well be the most charismatic performer in New Zealand (citation probably needed, but go with me on this). It’s classic, Priscilla-To-Wong-Foo-RuPaul kind of drag: Three queens lip-syncing to It’s Raining Men. If the gay classic ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Speaking of classics, “Leader of the Pack” is one of my all-time favourite songs, so the opportunity to hear Amelia Ryan and Michaela Burger, accompanied by Michael Griffiths, sing it was a treat. This sounds more like a slight than a compliment, but the act, under the show title Simply Brill, had the vibe of an RSA act; ingratiating and gregarious, but still packed with talent.

I’m a relative novice when it comes to watching burlesque, so the two acts that The Velvet Lounge contributed were pretty new to me, although it does seem that the general arc of a burlesque performance doesn’t really change. It’s more costume coming off than going on. The artistry and the beauty, then, is in the performers and their specific charm. Kiki Kisses performed along to a jazzy version of Doja Cat’s “Boss Bitch” (always welcome) while playing around with the band, which was followed up by Michelle Kasey’s seemingly innocent persona getting drunker and drunker, while the costume came off. I’ve never experienced nipple tassels in person, and honestly, the physics of how they work is as much a mystery to me as how certain parts of their costumes stayed on them.

However, the absolute star of the show, and perhaps the entire night, was Amanda Grace Leo. I’ve been familiar with her as a performer since seeing her in Auckland University’s production of The Crucible well over a decade ago, which I bring up only because Leo references her time doing am-dram with what seems to have become a perfect blend of self-deprecation and self-aggrandization. What’s new to me is that Leo has a hell of a voice packed into her 4’9 frame (again, referenced by her, her presence adds another forty-five feet onto that height). She promised her show, Karaoke Heaven, to be a blend of contemporary pop and Mando pop, but the biggest thing she promised is, honestly, herself. 

Later in the night was Cheeky Cabaret, a classic lineup show that blended circus, clownery, burlesque and one of the most strange acts I’ve ever seen. I’ve written about how circus can be an artform with unfortunately diminishing returns; I’ve seen more of it than I probably should have, so acts that thrill people who see maybe one or two shows a year, or maybe one circus show in a lifetime, leave me politely applauding rather than sitting in awe. In saying that, Cheeky Cabaret never overstayed its welcome.

The acts on display included singer Aurora Kurth, tap dancer Hilton Dennis, contortionist Bendy Ben. Particular highlights included Jacqueline Furey doing a world-class sword-swallowing routine, which, despite seeing that particular test of the human body a few times, never fails to impress and awe me, and Joel Salom doing a fantastic juggling routine, which proved to me that I will never not be excited by a human spinning objects in the air and managing to catch them. As a person who can barely put one foot in front of the other without incurring injury, physical co-ordination remains a feat that will have me banging my hands together as hard as they can go (on purpose, not because I’m clumsy).

Pricasso is, simply put, an extravagantly dressed man who paints with his dick. It’s the kind of act that is really the artistic version of coriander – either you’re into it or you’re not. I’m still deciding if I was delighted or mortified by it, but I can certainly say that I’ve never seen anything like it, and unless I encounter Pricasso in another lineup show in the future, I never will. (For what it’s worth, I think some of the best cabaret exists somewhere on the delightful and mortified spectrum, so Pricasso and his painting utensil very much earns his spot here.

The highlight of this particular show was Caitlin Marion, perhaps because her aerial work involving multiple silks is something that I’d personally never seen. When I see a show like this, or at least an act like this, I’m always looking for the beauty in the work, where pushing a human body further than most of us will ever think of pushing our bodies is less about impressing an audience and more about evoking feeling in them. Marion’s act was as much dance as it was circus, and I found myself being genuinely moved by it.

It was a big night – with nearly fifteen performers showcased across the two shows – and a clear, straight-forward, showcase of what’s on offer for the festival this year. A little bit of art, a little bit of art, a little bit of watching beautiful humans do beautiful things. It’s cabaret.

The Auckland Cabaret Festival runs until July 5 at the Civic Theatre.

This response was commissioned by Auckland Live. You can find more information about this commissioning structure here.