Monday, February 22, 2016

LA CLIQUE



La Clique
The Famous Spiegeltent
Presented by the Canberra Theatre Centre
Civic Square to 14 March

Review by Len Power 21 February 2016

“Sexy, spectacular and sparkling, La Clique completely redefines cabaret – shocking, surprising and scintillating.  Take an electrifying trip to a world of glamour and abandon. Vocal, dance and acrobatic performances will leave you awestruck.”

When you see advertising copy like this, you’d be forgiven for feeling a bit sceptical, but ‘La Clique’ really does live up to its advertising.  It’s a brilliant show from start to finish.

The Spiegeltent
The Spiegeltent, a nicely designed space with polished wood, mirrors and stained glass, provides the perfect atmosphere for this kind of variety show.  There’s magic, breath-taking acrobatics, aerial acts, burlesque comedy, sexy costumes, beautiful bodies and a wide variety of excellent music played by The Shuffle Club from Melbourne with Dannie Bourne as musical director.  Everything sung  by charismatic singer, Kelly Wolfgram from New York, is a showstopper.

British burlesque artist Vicky Butterfly does a ‘Night Flowers’ serpentine dance with LED lights in her costume that is well choreographed and visually quite haunting.  Italian-born British performer, Sophie Zucchini, has two acts in La Clique, one as the ‘half-burlesque, half-aerial’ character Madame de Voila and another featuring a magic trick with a red hanky that you’ll never forget.  This performer is a superb acrobat as well as an excellent comedienne.

Omar Cortes
Gerry Connelly does his great impersonation of Queen Elizabeth the Second with a cleverly localized speech that is hysterically funny.  He also provides a magnificent piano accompaniment for the exquisite acrobatic dancer, Chris Myland, who also teams with Felice Aguilar in a sensual double acrobatic dance.

The handsome Remi Martin does an amazing pole-aerial act that looks incredibly dangerous and acrobat, Omar Cortes, demonstrates a unique way to have a bath.  Paul Zenon leads the company as master of ceremonies with excellent stand up comedy skills, great jokes and some magic tricks of his own.

Paul Zenon
Everything about this show works and you’ll leave with a feeling of exhilaration.  Don’t miss it!

Photographs by the Canberra Times
Len Power’s reviews can also be heard on ‘Artcetera’ on Artsound FM 92.7 from 9am on Saturdays.