Trevor Ashley and Rhonda Burchmore Are Twins For A Night @ Dunstan Playhouse – Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2016 Review

Dunstan Playhouse, Fri 10 Jun Trevor Ashley and Rhonda Burchmore have both independently had triumphant shows at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Trevor Ashley last appeared in Adelaide in 2015 with I’m Every Woman and previously Liza (on an E), a show which has taken him around Australia and the world, including a season on London’s West End. Rhonda Burchmore has had more than 30 years in show-business with musical, movie, television and cabaret credits and at the 2014 Adelaide Cabaret Festival she performed Vinyl Viagra and received the prestigious Cabaret Icon Award. Unfortunately this show does not live up to the high standards audiences usually expect from these two talented performers. It is not that they shouldn’t perform together or that the concept couldn’t work, but there are too many superfluous elements in Twins. There are unquestionably memorable hits in this production, but there are also many misses. Lyrics had been unnecessarily re-written to nearly every song, the jokes were often silly, crass and sometimes offensive and overall it seemed under-rehearsed and unpolished. Positively, with all the gags they jammed into this show there were some hilarious moments. The Sia cover of Chandelier was a stand-out in terms of the lyrics and the portrayal of an intoxicated Sia by Burchmore and Ashley sufficiently filled out the flesh-coloured leotard as the ballet dancer. There were other great flashes of glitter with Burchmore’s portrayal of Ellen Degenerate (DeGeneres) and Ashley as Kim Kardashian. Musical Director James Simpson ensured the band, The Twinks, was another highlight; they still sound fantastic even when being fondled by Burchmore and Ashley. The audience appeared to enjoy the final songs, which concentrated on more heavily on simply singing and tap dancing in sparkling dresses to upbeat musical theatre tunes. Maybe this is what the whole show should have been. Bobby Goudie Rhonda Burchmore and Trevor Ashley perform Twins at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Theatre, at various times until Sun 12 Jun. Book at BASS on 131 246 and bass.net.au.Click HERE to purchase your tickets. Image courtesy of John McRae Social Media: Facebook: Adelaide Cabaret Festival Twitter: @AdelaideCabaret  #AdCabFest Instagram: @AdelaideCabaret Facebook: The Clothesline – Digital Arts Magazine Twitter: @Clothesline_Mag