Cabaret Festival - Licence To Thrill; concert

'Spicks and Specks' regular Alan Brough (pictured) presents 'Licence To Thrill: The Scores of James Bond'. James Bond certainly scored not only with film-goers but also with the beautiful women onscreen. Alan possesses extensive knowledge and trivia on pop culture and shares the stage with three Bond-Shells Wendy Stapleton, Kaye Tuckerman and Monique Montez.

Thrill Seeker by Linh

Alan Brough is a 6'4" New Zealander who's been a James Bond fan since he was ten years of age. An affable and well-suited human encyclopaedia of music trivia, Alan shares his experiences as a youthful and enthusiastic Bond fan. Everything from eating, drinking and smoking like James Bond is revealed and one can appreciate the influence of Bond on the previous and future generations of film-goers.

Backed up by the 'Cat Scratch Band' under the baton of Musical Director John Thorn, the delectable Bond Beauties deliver songs of the Bond films with energetic and exhilirating panache.

Actress and singer Wendy Stapleton has the strongest and most seductive voice of the trio, giving a passionate and smooth rendition of From Russia With Love, and hits the mark in Nobody Does It Better with her breathy velvety vocals.

Sultry siren Kaye Tuckerman combines sassiness and sophistication in The Man With The Golden Gun, then exudes her feisty flair for fun with Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Brilliant belter and young performer Monique Montez shows poise and vocal assurance with For Your Eyes Only , and tackles Thunderball with impressive vocal expression and power.

Individually the Bond-Shells sparkle and shine, but as a trio they display vocal fireworks in their Bond medleys.

'Licence To Thrill: The Scores Of James Bond' celebrates a night of Bond music and memories to satisfy the fans and lovers of action/suspense films, and pays homage to the theme songs that have touched our hearts and permeated our lives.

Mozart's The Impresario...in Vegas; comic opera

Adelaide sopranos Eleanor Blythman (top) and Jessica Dean.



'The Impresario' (Der Schauspieldirektor) is one of Mozart's rarely peformed operas, and has received different interpretations from previous performance companies. The one act comic opera being staged at The Opera Studio, has a new incarnation courtesy of artistic director Patrick Lim. This sparkling production has a contemporary spin and is set in a 1960s Las Vegas casino. Sung in German without surtitles and with English dialogue.


Double Diva Dilemma by Linh

'The Impresario' is a brilliant effort from artistic director Patrick Lim, who not only created a new setting for the opera, but also a new script in English. In the glitzy and fast paced environment of The Casino Salzburg, Patrick plays the Impresario, Preston Devereaux, whose job is not only to keep the punters happy, but also negotiate with two very difficult and duelling divas.

Patrick Lim is impressively suave with all the right words to charm the ladies into obedience and displays his tenor virtuosity in Care pupille (Beloved Pupil).

Soprano Eleanor Blythman plays the dippy diva with heart, Violet St. Clair, with bemusing naivety yet unyielding persistance. Her voice is richly supple in the beautiful aria Da Schlagt Die Abschiedsstunde (There Strikes The Parting Hour), and with Durch Zartlichkeit Und Schmeicheln (With Tenderness and Coaxing) Eleanor exquisitely produces a precise lightness in the voice that floats upwards with delicate ease.

Playing the flambouyant and no-nonsense diva Chloe La Rue, soprano Jessica Dean is impressive in her delivery of Bester Jungling (Best Youth) displaying a combination of flashy coloratura and dramatic vocal expression. Jessica shows comic charm during her rendition of S'altro Che Lacrime (If You Do Nothing But Cry) with luscious tonal textures in her vocal delivery.

All three voices combine to create an explosion of egos and vocal fireworks in Ich Bin Die Erste Sangerin (I Am The First Singer), with the sopranos competing to out sing each other, while the Impresario attempts to appease both divas.

Musical Director Anthony Hunt appears as Wesley Maxwell giving fine but brief support to the devious Impresario. He is also pianist and conductor to the string quartet which provided brilliant support throughout.

'The Impresario' features some of Mozart's highest soprano coloratura and combines dramatic qualities to the score and comedic charm in the libretto. The cast along with the orchestra under the musical direction of Anthony Hunt, presents another entertaining production.

Cabaret Festival - The Soubrettes; comedy

In comic opera, the soubrettes are the minor roles of chambermaids and servants, yet Tanya Kyriakou and Alice Carter show star quality as leading ladies in 'The Soubrettes'.

Fantastic Femmes by Linh

The sirens of satire and comedic chaos are back with a new set of songs and stories for this year's Cabaret Festival.

'The Soubrettes' are accompanied by the dashing William Poskitt on piano as they take the audience through an hour of lethal laughs and flirtatious fun.

Tanya Kyriakou plays the demure and dangerous brunette whose rendition of It's Not Easy Being Greek pokes fun at her ethnicity with a touch of poignancy.

Alice Carter shines as the bubbly blonde showing vocal diversity in You'll Do about being desperate to love any man who proposes.

The dynamic divas displayed glorious harmonising in the rebellious song I Wanna Be A Drug Addict and had the audience in fits of laughter with the anti-feminist anthem I Want A Man where Alice played keyboard with her stiletto heels.

Amidst a flurry of frock changes and wigs, the flirtatious pair warmed up the intimate Artspace venue with their bitchy banter, friendly audience participation and wickedly scathing commentaries on current issues and fashion trends.

Take care of your ticker while you watch 'The Soubrettes', as the lovely ladies may steal your heart with their comic charms and charisma.

Cabaret Festival - High Tea With Ida Barr; comedy

UK comedian, writer and musician Christopher Green returns as a familiar Cabaret Festival favourite to share more raunchy rhymes and hilarious anecdotes of the golden days at London's music hall in High Tea With Ida Barr.

More Than Tea And Scones by Linh

Following last year's successful Bingo shows, Miss Ida Barr invites Adelaideans to a free tea session flavoured with gangsta rap and hip hop numbers.

The Lyrics Lounge was full to capacity as crowds queued at the doors, while it was standing room only if you were lucky to get inside.

High Tea With Ida Barr is more than a leisurely sit-down-and-chat-over-tea experience, but a rigourous rapping and rhyming routine with Miss Ida Barr.

The veteran music hall pensioner shows she's still got the grooves to go with her moves as she struts onstage to original lyrics and music. You'll soon see that Ida's hip has enough hop to rival Missy Elliot and Beyonce!

Popular rap artists, Hollywood film actors and even local politics fail to escape the quick wit and lightning lips of Miss Ida Barr as she rocks through her rap medleys.

High Tea With Ida Barr shows how even seniors can get down and shake their groove thang along with the best of booty shakers. Miss Ida Barr reveals how 'bottoms up' is more than a drinking term, and even persuades you to do the 'Hokey Cokey'. However, it's also a fantastic opportunity for the talented Christopher Green to show how he can have fun in a frock while entertaining an excited Cabaret Festival crowd.