RAW: Cabaret Fringe Preview

By Miriam Keane

The Cabaret Fringe Festival is now well established, with 2011 being its fourth year as an accompaniment to the Cabaret Festival. Continuing to grow, this year’s festival boasts an impressive fifty-eight shows over four weeks. While the home of the Cabaret Fringe, La Bohème, still hosts many of these acts, they are also spread out across ten other city venues, including the reinvented Tuxedo Cat within the old Elektra Building on King William Street, which proved to be so popular at this year’s Adelaide Fringe festival.

The Cabaret Fringe is an open access festival, with everybody welcome to produce their own show and register to be a part of it. As always, there is a diverse mix of entertainment on offer, with both local and interstate acts included in the programme. This year there is also a string of shows which have a very international and multi-cultural flavour to them.

Golonka and Tzigane are two local bands, presenting a double bill at Nexus Cabaret on the penultimate night (Saturday June 25th) of the festival. They offer something a bit different from the usual local fare, with their sound heavily influenced by European Gypsy music. Golonka is a five piece group, which has been on the Adelaide scene for several years, performing both headline and support shows, and are well known for giving performances full of fun and energy. Tzigane is a more recently formed three piece, and while their music is also influenced by Eastern Europe it promises added flavours of South America. Together they will undoubtedly create a unique and entertaining evening of song.

Also on at Nexus Cabaret is the African comedy cabaret show Akuna Matata (No Problems). This will be presented as part of Refugee Week, with three performances from June 23rd. In addition to several short skits, this show includes original music, dancing and comedy and is designed to be an upbeat evening out with lots of laughter and enjoyment for everyone.

While the pressure of producing one show would be enough stress for most people, Fred Fudara exhibits his range and adaptability by presenting two complimentary productions. Having delighted audiences with his repertoire of French songs during his regular gigs at La Bohème, as well as local events such as the French Festival, he now shows that his talent also extends to Portuguese. His new show Come Fly With Me to Rio de Janeiro is on Saturday nights at Saldechin, until the 18th of June, and is one of a handful of free shows throughout the festival.

These are just a few of the great shows still to come as the wonderful Cabaret Fringe Festival once again fills the city’s smaller, alternative performance spaces with quality entertainment.

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