Dunstan Playhouse, Wed 15 Jun

Songs For The Fallen treated the Dunstan Playhouse audience to a romping hour of Parisian debauchery as Sheridan Harbridge brings her show about French courtesan, Marie Duplessis to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

The Prologue really set the scene as Harbridge breaks the fourth wall (and it stays broken throughout the show) to ensure we know that what we are about to see is a cheeky exploration of the rise – and fall – of 18th Century Paris’ most loved and revered ‘party girl’. Duplessis found fame as a young girl because of her extraordinary beauty; a bonus on the mean streets of Paris where a woman’s worth was often measured in this way. Plucked from a life of drudgery by willing ‘patrons’ who paid handsomely for her company, Duplessis lived a fantasy life filled with lavish apartments, clothes and carriages amidst visits to theatres and the opera. The decadence of her lifestyle is the stuff of legends, in particular because she dies a sad, penniless and painful death due to tuberculosis at the tender age of only 23.

Described as baroque–cabaret in style, musical director Basil Hogios (who performs side of stage) has provided a lavish pop sound that, together with Harbridge’s booming vocals, strangely ‘works’ in a space staged as a Parisian boudoir, dominated by an opulent, circular bed. Harbridge herself is a force to be reckoned with onstage – she has wonderful comic timing, switching from the deadpan to the outrageous in milliseconds. Likewise, Garth Holcombe and Ben Gerrard (who plays the many and varied men in Duplessis’ life) provides a hilarious support to the excesses of Harbridge’s character. Audience participation provided for a side-splitting scene involving the entire cast, two very enthusiastic punters and THAT bed – a fabulous example of how this show is able to ‘sell history’ through bawdy gags and physical humour.

Some transitions were less successful than others, however in the main this is a well written and staged cabaret experience containing that winning combination – a perfect mix of song, sumptuous settings and self-indulgent debauchery.

Rosie van Heerde

Songs For The Fallen continues at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, from 9pm on Thu 16 Jun.

Book at BASS on 131 246 and bass.net.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.

Image courtesy of Louis Dillon Savage

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Twitter: @AdelaideCabaret  #AdCabFest
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Dunstan Playhouse, Wed 15 Jun Songs For The Fallen treated the Dunstan Playhouse audience to a romping hour of Parisian debauchery as Sheridan Harbridge brings her show about French courtesan, Marie Duplessis to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The Prologue really set the scene as Harbridge breaks the fourth wall (and it stays broken throughout the show) to ensure we know that what we are about to see is a cheeky exploration of the rise – and fall – of 18th Century Paris’ most loved and revered ‘party girl’. Duplessis found fame as a young girl because of her extraordinary beauty; a bonus on the mean streets of Paris where a woman’s worth was often measured in this way. Plucked from a life of drudgery by willing ‘patrons’ who paid handsomely for her company, Duplessis lived a fantasy life filled with lavish apartments, clothes and carriages amidst visits to theatres and the opera. The decadence of her lifestyle is the stuff of legends, in particular because she dies a sad, penniless and painful death due to tuberculosis at the tender age of only 23. Described as baroque–cabaret in style, musical director Basil Hogios (who performs side of stage) has provided a lavish pop sound that, together with Harbridge’s booming vocals, strangely ‘works’ in a space staged as a Parisian boudoir, dominated by an opulent, circular bed. Harbridge herself is a force to be reckoned with onstage – she has wonderful comic timing, switching from the deadpan to the outrageous in milliseconds. Likewise, Garth Holcombe and Ben Gerrard (who plays the many and varied men in Duplessis’ life) provides a hilarious support to the excesses of Harbridge’s character. Audience participation provided for a side-splitting scene involving the entire cast, two very enthusiastic punters and THAT bed – a fabulous example of how this show is able to ‘sell history’ through bawdy gags and physical humour. Some transitions were less successful than others, however in the main this is a well written and staged cabaret experience containing that winning combination - a perfect mix of song, sumptuous settings and self-indulgent debauchery. Rosie van Heerde Songs For The Fallen continues at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, from 9pm on Thu 16 Jun. Book at BASS on 131 246 and bass.net.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. Image courtesy of Louis Dillon Savage Social Media: Facebook: Adelaide Cabaret Festival Twitter: @AdelaideCabaret  #AdCabFest Instagram: @AdelaideCabaret Facebook: The Clothesline – Digital Arts Magazine Twitter: @Clothesline_Mag

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Rosie van Heerde

A perfect mix of song, sumptuous settings and self-indulgent debauchery.

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