Cabaret Live! Melbourne edition launch wrap-up

After starting the smashingly popular open-mic cabaret night in Adelaide at La Boheme (which is still going very strong with Sidonie Henbest as the host) back in 2009, cabaret performer Nikki Aitken has now brought Cabaret Live! to Melbourne and hosted the first-ever event there last week at the iconic venue The Butterfly Club. 

It’s on every first Wednesday night of each month - if you’re in Melbourne, check out the contact information at the bottom of this post and be part of the action!

Nikki gives her account of the launch and tells us how the evening went down.

By Nikki Aitken

Cabaret Live! Melbourne Edition Successfully launched at The Butterfly Club last Wednesday night to an incredible audience and sensational performers. The quirky venue The Butterfly Club is a perfect spot for Cabaret Live!. Quite different to La Boheme, where Cabaret Live! was founded in 2009, The Butterfly Club provides a different kind of intimacy. Audiences were seated in the antique raked seats centremetres away from the stage which makes you feel like they are all part of the performance – and part of the performance they were indeed with regular call outs and comments flying back and forth from audience to stage.

Adelaide audiences will have heard me open with “Cabaret”during the very first ever Cabaret Live! and Melbourne audiences were given the original opening as well. Brigid Deneefe followed with “I want to be a Prima Donna” with a huge voice and hilarious sight gags involving her breasts and a necklace. Justin Clausen wooed the audience with “Always” and his ever-witty banter and the fantastic Emma Claire Ford (Best Cabaret Nominee – Adelaide Fringe 2011) showed us that the size of a voice is not always relative to the size of the performer – tiny frame – huge and amazing voice.

Trevor Jones on piano was flawless, not only accompanying most of the performances, but ordered onto stage after taking ‘a break’ when Simon Taylor came to the stage to perform his hilarious composition about the science of attraction. Trevor ‘sight read and sang’ a piece dedicated to the host of Cabaret Live!, who else but me - Nikki Aitken - called “Cabaret Girl” which made for a perfect end to the first half. 

The second half was as enjoyable as the first, if not more. After leaving the performance space to go and get another drink, the audience were even more prepared to become part of the banter. I gave a performance of  “Born To Entertain” whilst attempting to mount the piano to open the second set. First time performer Mel Hughes performed “A Cappella” leaving us all feeling pensive. Pensive due to how wonderful it was! What a joy to share in someone’s first time on stage experience and have it be so beautiful. Andrew Strano used us to test out audition material for his Legally Blonde audition. After the performers from the first half came back to share more of themselves with the audience, Sophie Walsh-Harrington (Winner Best Cabaret Adelaide Fringe, 2011) sat on the piano and strummed her ukulele. And we were all treated to material only hours old from Gillian Cosgriff (Sydney Cabaret Showcase Runner Up, 2011).

It was a fantastic launch and I am so excited that Cabaret Live! is now NATIONAL! Thanks to The Butterfly Club and as always, to La Boheme, the founding home of Cabaret Live!

Contact 

Melbourne Cabaret Live! enquires: nikki.aitken@me.com

To join the mailing list and receive the latest information, click here.

Facebook page: Melbourne Cabaret Live!  lives herehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/CABARET-LIVE/84121797823

(*For Adelaide Cabaret Live! Lovers - this is your new page  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cabaret-Live/101209633296868)

Related post:

Cabaret Live! to make Melbourne debut with host Nikki Aitken @ The Butterfly Club - 4th May

Lena Nobuhara

Cabaret Confessional Associate Editor

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