Cabaret Confessional

Sidonie Henbest was first introduced to the music of Sophie Tucker when a colleague challenged her to perform one of the singer’s famous songs. 

“Catherine Campbell told me I was the only person she could imagine singing this song and selling it properly to the audience.”

Henbest, who can proudly boast curves ‘in all the best places’ wasn’t sure she was the right person to sing “I Don’t Want to Get Thin” until she came to discover the journey Sophie Tucker had taken before recording it.

Sophie was raised in Hartford, Connecticut, having been born off the back of a cart as her parents were fleeing Russia. Her parents settled in America and ran a rooming house with a restaurant. Many touring vaudevillians would stay there when they came through town.

Sophie would sing in the family restaurant for the patrons and when the seasoned performers who dined there said “when you’re ready to make it in the big smoke, look me up,” she took them at their word. 

She ran away at 17, having already been married and had a child. She left the baby with her own mother and moved to New York. She decided that if she didn’t get out then, she might never escape. Although she wired money to her family every week, Tucker vowed that she wouldn’t return to Hartford until she’d made it as a top-billing star.

Sophie didn’t have the conventional good looks of the day and was cast mainly in character roles in her early vaudeville career, often performing in ‘black face’. A few break out opportunities gave her the chance to establish herself as a star in her own right and perform lead roles and then with solo billing. Even as a headliner, people in the business would encourage her to slim down, but she celebrated her curves and made them an integral part of her image.

Sidonie, what was the first cabaret show you remember seeing? What was its affect on you?

I saw Sir Peter Ustinov in review at the Festival Centre in the 80s – he was a master raconteur.  He commanded that entire space like it was his living room.  More recently – I was transformed by seeing Julie Wilson perform live.  Again - an absolute master storyteller at work.  The effect that both these performers had on me was to show me what mastery of your art looks like and to illustrate that nothing is more important than connecting with your audience.

What artists inspire you?

I came to cabaret by way of jazz, so my first loves were Ella, Sarah, Nina & Billy.  In a modern context I am inspired by Cassandra Wilson, Lillias White, Julie Wilson, Ms Minnelli and Bath boy from La Clique (but that’s a different sort of inspiration…)

What have been the challenges in preparing The Last of the Red Hot Mamas?

There have been many…but that is probably a sign of a worthy subject!  

In deciding to revive a legend from a century ago, it had not occurred to me that most of the tin pan alley music was no longer in print.  Cue an ear-bending exercise in transcribing the original recordings for most of the songs in the show.  I hasten to add this was done by my MD…I just did the lyrics!

One of the other challenges for me as a performer was a lack of footage of Sophie Tucker, and none of her in her heyday. We are used to being able to connect to our subject through the medium of film and television, but I had to do it through her voice instead, and her words.  A dear friend of mine actually hunted down a signed copy of her autobiography for me…what a gift!

You are also co-director of the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe which was established two years ago and now runs alongside the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. How would you describe the state of cabaret in Adelaide at present and where would you like to see it in five years time?

Cabaret in Adelaide is very much alive and kicking!  I used to think international performers were just being ‘media savvy’ when they praised the scene here for its size, vision and commitment, but really when compared to most of the world, we are uniquely placed – in terms of the concentration of artists, opportunities and most importantly – audience.  The scene here is certainly more cohesive and available to the general public compared to say London, where I’ve lived most of my adult life.

If current trends in Cabaret, Burlesque and other live performance arts continue, then in five years I would expect to see an increase in venues in Adelaide with exclusively Cabaret programming.  We will also by then have another generation of performers treading the boards.  Previously, the art form has been lovingly maintained by the dedicated few.  In recent years we’ve seen a new wave of performers inspired by more modern Australian Cabaret artists such as Eddie Perfect, Casey Bennetto and David Campbell… and I’ve seen some of the kids coming up … WOW

With any rise in culture, I would expect to see this mirrored in the education system – both at a secondary and tertiary level.  In this case, I would expect to see Cabaret taken on by an institution such as AC Arts, as a course in its own right.

Off the back of all of this creative nurturing and growth I would expect to see Adelaide become an internationally recognized centre for the development of cabaret – both in terms of productions and the art form itself. Cabaret is pretty bendy – I think we can push it a lot further!

What is the role of the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe in achieving that ‘five year vision’?

I believe that the Cabaret Fringe Festival plays an instrumental role. By running an annual month-long festival that is open access, we have created an opportunity for artist and audience alike to foster new material, ideas and creativity.  It is also a celebration of a magical art form, which clearly speaks to the hearts and minds of the public.  

We must be clear that there is an equally important place for grass-roots and international in the same city – particularly when it comes to the arts.  I think people have allowed the idea of local or home-grown to mean sub-standard, thereby allowing it to be marginalized.  I know that this is simply not true – we have a wealth of truly talented and extraordinary people who call Adelaide home.  

I hope that in the next five years we can encourage our arts festivals to further support the development of local art, by more than just the few usual suspects.

Sidonie’s show The Last of the Red Hot Mamas opens on Tuesday Feb 23 at The Promethean and continues until Monday Mar 8 (with the final performance at La Boheme).

LAST OF THE RED HOT MAMAS

Venue: The Promethean

23-24 Feb, 2-3 March @ 9.30pm 

A$25/C $20/FB $18/G $20

Venue: La Boheme

8 March @ 7.30pm 

A$25/C $20/FB $18/G $20

Book at FringeTIX (1300-FRINGE) or click here.