Sydney Reviews

ON/OFF is an onstage/offstage cabaret-style show, written by and starring Lisa Chappell (of McLeod’s Daughters fame). Lisa Chappell and Marissa Dikkenberg give amazing performances as two middle-aged women, routinely carrying out their cabaret show in front of a dwindling crowd. Throughout the short (and sweet) production, which runs for about 70 minutes without interval, the audience catch a glimpse at the not-so-glamorous life of a cabaret performer.

The show is entertaining, engaging, hilarious at points, yet quite heart-breaking in others. The music is spectacular and Chappell and Dikkenberg’s voices are like liquid gold. Performing solo’s and duet’s, Chappell and Dikkenberg sing classic love songs by the likes of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin (with musical direction by Daryl Wallis, silently playing the piano on stage as character, John), which are woven quite seamlessly into the silent narratives that unfold ‘backstage’.

Here in this private (made public) backstage area, the women sit, half dressed (in some gorgeous gowns), drinking, re-applying make-up, seemingly jaded, sad and contemplative. One performer struggles with the idea of separating from her husband, while the other relishes in her freewheeling life. The characters portrayed are utterly convincing, no doubt based on many of the lives that exist in the entertainment industry.

The direction, by Scott Witt, is flawlessly executed for the small space, allowing the big voices of Chappell and Dikkenberg to shine, while framing what happens on and off stage, quite candidly. The story really draws the audience in as the stars of the cabaret slowly crumble under the brunt of their own truths.

Something must also be said about the venue. The Bordello Theatre, on level 4 of the Kings Cross Hotel is a perfect set-up for an intimate performance such as ON/OFF. Like stepping into the Moulin Rouge and then being hit with the reality that the life of an entertainer isn’t as glamorous as it appears on the surface.


ON/OFF
by Lisa Chappell

Venue: Bordello Theatre, Kings Cross Hotel
Dates: Nov 30 – Dec 15, 2013
Tickets: $25 – $20
Bookings: www.trybooking.com/DWLL