Blanc de Blanc.
Circus International. Presented by Strut and Fret Production House. Magic Mirror Spiegeltent. Garden of Unearthly Delights. Feb. 17 – March 19 2017. Adelaide Fringe
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
The Adelaide Fringe’s Garden of
Unearthly Delights on the parklands at Adelaide’s East End bustles and brims
with crowds taking in thee delights of a myriad of acts from high flying
comedians, circus troupes, cabaret performers, burlesques and all kind of acts
to titillate and excite, to rock the tent or venue with rollicking laughter or
gasps of surprised delight.
A long line of eager Fringe
visitors file into the garden’s Magic Mirror Spiegel tent for an evening of
cabaret, acrobatics and naughty nudity. The revelers are there to have a good
time, to whistle and cheer, to ogle and applaud and soak in the spirit of
cabaret and circus. The sophisticated French accented MC slowly fondles the
stem of a the champagne bottle, sliding with sensuous ease into wicked
sophistication as he introduces the alluring women and the gangly, bumbling
clown, Spencer.
It is the cabaret of Tease,
fizzing with innuendo and double entendre, enticing the audience into an
intoxicating evening of gay abandon.
There is the women gymnast twirling in the bellhop’s jar, and later swirling
the hoops in athletic circles about her neck, her knees, and wherever she might
please. There are the aerialists twirling above the bath. There is the rubbery clown,
Spencer, with the sad clown’s face and the Le Coq mask of grimace. And there
the fizz loses its sparkle in flashes of naked skin and embarrassed audience
participation. This is no Dom Perignon White Gold of a show. No euphoric sip of
romance bubbles to the surface. There is underutilized talent and soulless
familiarity of routine.
This parody of cabaret needs
style and panache to give the parade of disconnected acts some zest. There is
no theme to connect the show’s
performances apart from the suggestive fingering of the champagne bottle’s neck
to urge its ejaculation. Subtlety is no servant of this cabaret. It is in dire
need of lively, imaginative and theatrical direction.
Having said this, and feeling
disappointed that potential was never realized, apart from the occasional flash
of talent, the audience had come to delight in the sexy and the suggestive and
the spirit of a night out at the Spiegeltent. It is time to turn the mirrors on
the act and find a new reflection in the glass. There was laughter and whoops
of delight and standing ovation as the bubbles and the feathers splayed across
the seats, and a happy crowd made their way back out into the bustling Garden.
They have had a good time, but I
couldn’t help feeling that they deserved a better brand of sparkling bubble in
their glass.
