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Eastend Cabaret
Cabaret XXL
Birmigham Rep
**** IF YOU are eager for a slice of the
alternative theatre pie, then Cabaret XXL returns to The Rep door for
its autumn/winter season. Previously a Thursday night and monthly slot,
the evening now moves to a mostly Friday night affair (do check the
schedules) and at the slightly later time of 9.30. This is presumably to
acquire greater audience potential from the weekend crowd heading into
the city. The Reps previous offerings at XXL have dazzled
and the shows set for the next few months look to continue that trend
for quality alternative comedy. That leads nicely to the first act of the season
Eastend Cabaret. It features the duo that is Bernadette, the glamorous,
somewhere from Europe diva and the visual half man/half woman Victor
Victoria. This show is pretty much all about sex, featuring a series of
songs that illustrate our addiction to it and their complex performing
relationship all tied together with a string of blatant innuendoes’
antics. It seems no subject in the area of carnal
relations is taboo and Bernadette controls the action with Victor often
contradicting her sarcastically, so that the focus shifts from one to
the other in equal measures. Because of that it’s hard to know who to
concentrate on as the pair separate and use both the stage and audience
space, each stealing the limelight in their own way. It also means you
miss a lot of what is happening and whilst Bernadette is literally
taking over the men in the audience, Victor is manically gesturing
behind her. Victor is the crazy, Harpo Marx-like, musical
force on both piano and accordion and he/she delivers the backing for
Bernadette’s quirky vocals. The lyrics to their songs are nothing but
observations on the sexual act, lust and self-love although the most
successful is a drinking song kept for the pre-planned encore. The pair have crafted a polished performance and
the personas they have created work well in uniquely exploring all sorts
of comedic possibilities. Victor Victoria throughout is unable to halt
Bernadette’s sexual prowess and desire and that is often played or taken
out on the audience. At some points the sound was unbalanced and often
too loud for the space which meant a lot of the storytelling in the
songs was lost. The duo does not hold back in their extreme performance
although the audience members selected for various tasks seemed a little
uncomfortable in what they were made to do. Gathering and using audience members for
participation in a live show can be either entertaining or uncomfortable
to watch. The girls do get a lot of laughs from just having their
victims onstage but do little than use or partially molest them in
public. Take away this and a lot of the laughs and impact of the show
would be lost and after a while it began to be a little too obvious. Overall though the pace of the action kept the
comedy flowing and rescued otherwise awkward moments keeping the
sell-out audience well entertained. It’s a sexually charged and feisty start to the
new improved Cabaret XXL nights at the Rep and if the heat generated in
the room by Eastend Cabaret is an example and anything to go by, then
you won’t be minding the relief of the chill from the approaching autumn
/winter nights after future shows. Jeff Grant 21-10-16
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