Bernie Dieter is without a doubt the reigning monarch of FRINGE WORLD 2024. If you’ve seen one of her previous cabarets, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet, because Club Kabarett is NEXT LEVEL. The world-class talent, music, atmosphere, and spectacle make it the absolute must-see of the season.
Now, I consider myself a pretty good champion of the small Fringe folks, the ones that inhabit the makeshift stages in the noisy pubs and look a bit nervous to be there. So when it comes to the big festival headliners, there’s less of that nervous excitement about them, and more of an expectation that the show will be a strong, polished, surefire crowd-pleaser. I expected no less from Club Kabarett – but what I actually got was so much more.
The super-sized 800-seat L’Euro Grande is home to Club Kabarett for the entirety of the festival, and Bernie Dieter’s entertainment engine has been upsized too. After a three-month residency in London’s West End, this fine-tuned production stands as the absolute pinnacle of the variety/cabaret genre.
Director/producer Tom Velvick and Dieter have orchestrated a seamless, flawless, cavalcade of circus and burlesque with Dieter and her 3-piece band’s (Mark Elton, bass; Laura Williams, drums; Jarrad Van Dort, guitar) music woven right the way through. Not a moment passes without somewhere to direct your eyes and ears; even when the stage hands need a moment to rig and secure the next high-flying act’s equipment, Dieter and her band are maintaining the show’s forward momentum with pulsing music.
If you think you’ve seen an amazing pole dancer – think again. Blue Phoenix sculpts shapes around the pole that exemplify the artistry of this type of performance and demonstrate a strength, control and grace that seem to defy the limits of what the human body is capable of. The same goes for contortionist Soliana Ersie, who shapeshifts with an exceptional level of artistic skill that goes beyond physical ability. I hesitate to even mention the wonder and awe that Bella Diosa brings to the show for fear of ruining the surprise of her final hair-raising performance. Suffice it to say, your jaw might need to be reattached after you see what she does.
Velvick and Dieter must have access to a secret stable of superhumans to join their pseudo-Weimar world, but Boorloo’s own burlesque royalty Sugar du Joure is certainly no secret to us. Her gender-fluid quick change and tease spliced itself perfectly into the Kabarett DNA, though she’s only performing with Dieter for a few nights. And without a doubt, Joe Keeley on aerial silks and straps and Adam Malone head-standing on the swinging trapeze bring their enormous skill and talent to complete this Kunstkammer’s collection.
Even with all this unmatched talent and impeccable production value on display, Dieter leaves time and space to truly connect with the audience, get intimate with us. Within the Bernie Dieter we’ve come to know, clad in her big, fuck-off stomping boots and her characteristic severe black bob, she elicits big laughs and cheers. But this time, this year, she breaks the fourth wall of that persona just a little bit. She takes off the wig, reveals to us how she didn’t know if she could keep doing what she does in a world that seems to be faltering more than ever, and sits on the edge of the stage to sing us one last song.
Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett keeps going strong and keeps Boorloo audiences coming back for more. They’ve added more shows due to demand for this Meisterwerk of Fringe excellence, so don’t miss it.
CICELY BINFORD
Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett runs at L’Euro Grande at the European Foods Warehouse in Northbridge from 19 January – 18 February. For tickets and more information click here.
