2010 Edinburgh Fringe: Smoke & Mirrors
Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:59AM
NEWS: Smoke and Mirrors shines at the 2010 Helpmann Awards
Sydney Festival and Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s phenomenal hit 2010, conceived in the same stiletto-heeled boudoir as ‘La Clique’, a troupe of carnival glitterati ignited by its wicked live band and powerful, charismatic superstar iOTA. A live concept album, a fantasy cabaret, ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ explodes with its dazzling array of quixotic characters: Vaudevillian tap dancer, twisted chanteuse, sublime aerialist, death-defying acrobats and ooh-aah magician. The iconic façade of the famous Spiegeltent comes to life in a lavish and lyrical adventure co-commissioned by Sydney Festival and Spiegeltent International - #$*! me into my happy place…
Created by Craig Ilott and iOTA, Directed by Craig Ilott
Warning: this show contains smoke, strobe lighting, coarse language and a naked flame.
Reviews from 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Less Alice in Wonderland and more Grace Slick, this Australian show offers giant mutant bunnies that look as if they have fallen victim to some kind of nuclear accident; fake mustachioed strongmen; and a fabulous band who could easily have stepped out of the pages of A Clockwork Orange. Presiding over it all is iOTA, the ringmaster, a figure who is a victim of his own fantasies – a remarkable presence both seductive and repellent, jaunty and regretful, malevolent and desperately sad.
Read the full review by Lyn Gardner here.
With iOTA (imagine a cross between the MC from Cabaret and Hedwig of Angry Inch fame) at the helm, this is a visually and aurally stunning experience – sometimes in every sense of the word!
…we are taking a journey into the fevered, circus-obsessed mind of its frontman, iOTA, whose terrific, Clockwork Orange-styled band provide a live soundtrack to the various acts - the trio of acrobats from last year’s Controlled Falling Project, singer Queenie van de Zandt (here sporting a nifty beard) and more - with iOTA’s own between-act songs shaping the whole into a fantastical and sometimes nightmarish narrative.
Read the full review by Andrew Eaton here.
Dark, deceptive, transfixing and magical, there was not a single aspect of any of the performances that was anything less than worthy of a five star rating. The Bearded Lady was somehow so beautiful; the camped up iOTA so commandingly hetero; the endlessly energetic Vaudevillian so tragic.
Read the full review by Alison Grieve here.
Venue: The Famous Spiegeltent
Dates: 10-30 August (no shows on 16, 23 Aug)
Times: 10-13, 17-20, 24-28th 22.00pm
14-15, 21-22, 28-29th 19.00pm and 22.00pm
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Tickets: Full £ 20.00/ Concession £ 15.00
Bookings: Click here or +44 (0)131 226 0000
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Official website: www.edfringe.com
Reviews
Part clown, part rock star, part Berlin cabaret queen, part desolate regret and all charisma, iOTA seems on the brink of something extraordinary and is a magnetic and fascinating stage presence. He and Craig Ilott flirt with the dangerous aspects - the grotesques, the physical proximity of the audience, the actual danger of the aerial and balancing acts, the social and sexual ambiguity of the characters and the out-of-time quality of the show itself - a salute to the 90-year-history of the Spiegeltent. Yet it would be good to see the show develop and grow; to take the frissons of excitement generated by the skirting of the perilous and go further.
Read the full review by Diana Simmonds here.
The world is an illusion. Bright lights, rock music blaring and a lone rabbit stands on the stage. The opening ofSmoke and Mirrors is dark and enticing; the characters ominous yet alluring and very charismatic.
Have you ever wanted to run away and join the circus? You’ll be amazed, very amazed. A four-piece rock and roll band provides a sultry backdrop to this sometimes confronting cabaret.
Read the full review by Melissa Mack here.
Under Craig Ilott’s direction and led by the captivating performer/co-creator iOTA as a sultry, white-faced MC strongly reminiscent of one Dr Frank-N-Furter, the audience is treated to a succession of acts.
Dark, dirty, funny, sexy, powerful and absolutely captivating.
Read the full review by Jamie Wright here.
There are times when there is a feeling of unease, others of elation and certainly of confrontation and challenge in this very rewarding performance.
Read the full review by Barry Lenny here.
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