Nosferatutu or Bleeding At The Ballet: A Gothically-Inclined Bloody Romp, Dripping With Slapstick Fun… And Blood! ~ Adelaide Cabaret Festival Review

[AUSTRALIA ~ ADELAIDE PREMIERE] Banquet Room, Fri Jun 22. A gothically-inclined romp across a bloody Swan Lake stage, Nosferatutu is dripping with fun and slapstick silliness, providing a truly unique cabaret experience for this clearly delighted audience. Written by Tommy Bradson, who also performs the title role, this show is what you get when a ballet loving vampire tries to ‘save’ the show after its lead dancer manages to slowly bleed to death on stage, courtesy of said vampire’s neck nibbling tendencies, of course. Helped by an operatic usher – in a quirky performance by the show’s director Sheridan Harbridge – Nosferatutu and co. spends the next hour engaged in a manic exploration of dodgy dance moves, divine arias and perfectly placed pop culture songs and extended references. Macabre humour is at its best in the Weekend At Bernie’s moments as they do unspeakable things to Brandyn Kaczmarczyk in the role of the hapless dancer. A pointy-toothed, deathly spectacle of pure angst, Bradson’s 437-year-old vampire is a well-crafted character exploring age old issues off isolation, loneliness and violence. At the same time he is also ridiculously horrific, much like a dose of “gastroenteritis on a Bangkok Buck's night”. A tight three-piece band, under the musical direction of Stephen Kreamer, leant a nice dimension to the performance, and Alexander Berlage’s lighting design created special places for the narrative to evolve. Bad sight lines due to the low stage/cabaret seating combination made it difficult for anyone other than the front row tables to fully appreciate Ashisha Cunningham’s effectively simple stage design. Nosferatutu is definitely the type of show you can really sink your teeth into. Don’t miss it! 4 stars Rosie van Heerde Nosferatutu or Bleeding At The Ballet continues at Banquet Room, Adelaide Festival Centre, from t 6.30pm until Sat 23 Jun. Book at BASS on 131 246 and bass.net.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #AdCabFest #AdelaideFesCent adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au Images courtesy of Lucy Parakhina