Melbourne Reviews

Bernie Dieter’s crazy punk circus cabaret dedicated to all things different and unhinged was last seen in Melbourne in a traditional circus tent, headlining the circus program of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

It went off like a rocket then and it still goes off now ... in a show that brings together rock musicians, gasp-inducing acrobatics and a lascivious mistress of ceremonies/singer in Bernie Dieter herself. The highlight of it all is a slew of top shelf circus acts that you won't find in Cirque Du Soleil.

Now it feels even bigger and if not better, just as amazing as it was first time around, in a venue that really suits its rough and ready vibes.

The Meat Market’s rectangular, high-ceilinged warehouse with its touches of vintage industrial gels with Dieter’s metal/Weimar persona. It allows for a long catwalk, with a trio of hard-rocking musicians up one end and the decadent circus solos down the other.

Part concert, part original-song cabaret and very adult acts of the absolutely highest order, Club Kabarett, and Dieter, the personality, urge an embrace of the freak and a rejoicing of the alternative. It's tightly wrapped up in a stylised package that leaves you feeling sentimental, joyous, naughty and exhilarated all at once.

Dieter is undoubtably a powerhouse, making her entrance by entwining herself within an audience member's lap and then coaxing four giddy men to carry her back to stage, crooning about love and carnality with her gritty lyrics and cheeky grin. But she’s just part of the bigger picture – her choice of acrobats, all elaborately wacky, sensuously-charged and beyond averagely skilful, are what truly pack the show's punch.

There is not a dud in the mix, from Soliana Ersie’s sexy contortion that emerges from a trunk generally used for sound gear, to Jarred Dewey’s mournful trapeze that manages to be both darkly emotional and physically difficult – all in crazily high-heels.

Everything shines, but Jacqueline Furey, who combines burlesque tease with the dangerous activities of sword swallowing and fire eating, is next level again. She has such exquisite timing and surprise in her detailed acts – they are the full package, from go to woah and worth the price of admission all on their own.

Danik Abishev’s manic hand balancing and ladder balancing have a more rough and ready energy, but are certainly no less adroit than anything else on show. Like all the acts, there are sexy elements, but what comes across most from Abishev are tightly honed acrobatic feats, mostly upside down or wobbling atop a ladder that’s on fire, presented with a frenzy that looks out of control. (And may actually have been opening night ... but being the consumate performer, Abishev literally rolled with punches.)

Leopold Pentland appears late in the piece, with an aerial straps acts that has a suprising fluidity and creativity of tricks that sets it well beyond ordinary (and even an ordinary straps act requires feats of strength that most humans can only dream about.)

Like with Furey’s burlesque, Iva Rosebud's (Lachlan Bartlett) two acts are dependent on a whole persona – the kick is in the character itself.

Rosebud’s character has been developing for some time (seen in other shows) and is looking especially honed in timing and gesture to really bring out the cheeky suprise and audaciousness of the action. Definitely adults only!

Suffice to say, everything that Dieter brings together in her menagerie of eccentrics is titillating and top of its craft. It’s not surprising that Club Kabarett does the international rounds. It’s an escapist, sneakily fun and ultimately joyous collection of mayhem and decadence that feels especially appealing in our current climate of doom and gloom.

For nearly two hours in Dieter’s den, all the real world is forgotten, and an alternative universe is oodles more fun, bringing us back to a guttural and exciting physicality that breaks past the stage and unleashes something corporeal in the audience.