2018 PROGRAM WEEK ONE
OPENING GALA
Tuesday 19 June, 6.30pm
Some of the best highlights from shows from across the festival in the one extravaganza, hosted by the one and only Dolly Diamond.
Katya: The Minx From Minsk
Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 June, 6:30pm
Katya Ulyana Anastasiya Svet. Her passport has more names than stamps because she has never left Minsk. She’s dark, sexy and powerful at her core, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Innately a klutz, Katya believes her true strength lies in becoming a Bond girl. With Melbourne soul-songstress Jessica Papst and a killer band led by Shanon Whitelock. It’s time to learn when to kiss and when to kill.
Kabaret Dietrich
Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 June, 8.30pm
A delicious theatrical affair unveiling the alluring enigma of Marlene Dietrich through song and story with Nikki Nouveau.
Set in Weimar Republic Berlin, Kabaret Dietrich unmasks the trials of the ageing film star, from her early beginnings as a musician, an under-recognised performance career in cabaret and theatre, through to her emergence as a shining legend of the silver screen.
Featuring a repertoire of cabaret classics, including ‘Falling In Love Again’, ‘Lili Marlene’and ‘La Vie En Rose’, delivered in German, French and English with accompaniment by piano, accordion and musical saw.
‘Nouveau demonstrated the very best of cabaret with style and grace’– Cabaret Scenes Magazine, NYC
‘Beautifully rendered biography through song, dance & music of legendary Marlene Dietrich’– Fourth Wall Media
Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice
Friday 22 to Sunday 24 June, 6.30pm
Danielle O’Malley is following her 2017 sell-out seasons of ‘You’re My World – The Cilla Black Story’, with a sexy, sassy tribute to another icon of 60s pop – Miss Nancy Sinatra. With swinging hits like Something Stupid, Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), Summer Wine, Lightning’s Girl and These Boots are Made for Walkin’, plus a little gossip about dating Elvis and taking Ol’ Blue Eyes to parent/teacher night – this one is guaranteed to be a perfect night out for 60s music fans and footwear-fetishists alike.‘
The real quality is in O’Malley’s singing and her ability to capture Sinatra’s vocal essence…perfect.’— The West Australian.
‘Brilliant…this is a show not to be missed.’— Perth Cafe Culture
Written and Performed by Danielle O’Malley, Jeremy Stanford and Mark Jones. Directed by Jeremy Stanford. Musical direction by Mark Jones with a line-up of piano, bass, and percussion
God Only Knows: The Brian Wilson Songbook
Friday 22 to Sunday 24 June, 8.30pm
Brian Wilson is undisputed as one of the greatest composers of all time. Through The Beach Boys he revolutionised the world of contemporary music. Behind the song-writing, Wilson’s life was emotional and complex; the music frequently mirroring life as he knew it. Accompanied by band, cabaret rock star Drew Downing narrates the life of Wilson through one of the most acclaimed songbooks of any composer:
Surfin’ USA • Wouldn’t It Be Nice • I Get Around • Good Vibrations •When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) • Surfer Girl • In My Room • God Only Knows, plus many more.
The ninth annual Melbourne Cabaret Festival bursts onto the stage with some of the most fabulous and seductive cabaret from across Australia.
Returning to Chapel Off Chapel with an even bigger program, up to 10 performances daily, from Tuesday 19 June to Sunday 1 July 2018. Featuring 20 brand new cabaret shows, the festival again provides an opportunity to see new works from established and emerging artists before they tour to take on the national and world festival stages.
Queen of Cabaret, Dolly Diamond returns as the festival’s Artistic Director. ‘Well there’s no denying that 2017 was a fabulous year for the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, so the pressures on to make this year’s festival even bigger.
We’ve absolutely loved gathering such an eclectic line-up of performers for 2018, See you at The Chapel….’Program highlights include:
Opening Gala
Some of the best highlights from shows from across the festival in the one extravaganza, hosted by the one and only Dolly Diamond.
God Only Knows: The Brian Wilson Songbook
Brian Wilson is undisputedly one of the greatest composers of all time. Through The Beach Boys he revolutionised the world of contemporary music. Behind the song-writing, Wilson’s life was emotional and complex; the music frequently mirroring life as he knew it. Accompanied by band, cabaret rockstar Drew Downing narrates the life of Wilson through one of the most acclaimed songbooks of any composer.
Sun Rising
This critically acclaimed show pays homage to the early music of Memphis record label, Sun Records. The label was owned by a man named Sam Phillips, who went on to discover Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, BB King and more. Sun Rising tell their amazing stories, beautifully tied together with the incredible music. David Cosma, acoustic guitar, vocals narration; Damon Smith, piano, vocals, narration; Adrian Whyte, electric guitar, vocals; Trent McKenzie, bass, vocals; Adam Coad, drums, vocals; and Cookie Baker, vocals.
Shaken – A James Bond Cabaret
The Man. The Number. The License. His name is Bond, James Bond. Join Charlie D. Barkle and Erin Hutchinson as they plunge head first into over 50 years of James Bond iconography. Pitting the seven ‘Bond’ actors against each other in a race to determine, scientifically, which of them is the greatest all-time Bond. The award winning Shaken is packed with some of the greatest Bond themes, trivia, and anecdotes. Including hits from Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, and Tina Turner.
What Doesn’t Kill You [blah blah] Stronger
A river guide gets swallowed by a hippopotamus…and survives. A British stewardess makes it through three shipwrecks. Winner of the two major awards from this year’s Perth Fringe World Festival this outstanding production reveals several bizarre, extraordinary, but true, tales of survival from all over the world. Starring Erin Hutchinson, Tyler Jacob Jones and Joshua Haines on piano.
