Spring has sprung, and the Darlinghurst Theatre Company is in full Bloom. The Eternity Playhouse unfurls into the new normal with what’s been loving dubbed as a ‘carnival of radical delight’. Combing live music, queer culture, uproarious stand-up, fierce debate and fine dining, it also marks the return of live performance to the Burton Street auditorium (though the Darlinghurst treated us to a short stint of cabaret in Two Trout restaurant earlier in the year).
Running until November 29, Bloom teams the Darlo with Great Southern Nights, the Sedition Arts Festival and a residency from the People of Cabaret, an organisation amplifying the voices of people of colour in the arts (particularly in the realms of cabaret, burlesque and variety).
After the first edition of piano bar-style mid-week jaunt Thirsty Thursdays, the real kick off came in the form of the spiderweb-spun Resurrection Ball, an evening of variety acts emceed by the self-styled “gutsy immigrant-carny scumbag of your wettest and weirdest dreams,” drag king Marlena Dalí on Halloween. Time Out was there to witness the transformation of the Darlo auditorium into a physically distanced performance den. With the usual stage giving way to cabaret-style table seating and a bar, a new platform stage emerged in the middle of the auditorium, creating an engrossing theatre-in-the-round setting with theatre audience seating on the other side. If there are two positive adaptations to take from post-lockdown live performances, it would be: the ability to see talented performers who’d often appear in club basements let loose in traditional theatrical spaces, and also the innovation of ordering cocktails to your table via QR code as DJs spin between the acts.
If the vibe of this launch event is any indication of the events to follow in the Bloom calendar, audiences are in for performances that are affirming, straight up fun (like drag queen Sarah Moany’s mash up of the Marilyns, both Manson and Monroe) beautiful expressions (Dyan Tai’s original music performance), fierce fashion moments (Brendan de la Hay’s wacky aluminium tube sleeve reveal), intriguing squirming (enduced by acts like Marlena’s circus schtick of hammering nails up their nose) and erotic thrills (Dale Woodbridge-Brown’s whip-sharp whip cracking).
At the Resurrection Ball, Marlena spoke about the thrill for queer artists like themself to be performing to live audiences again. When the person you get to be on stage becomes such a part of your identity and your queerness, to go without that outlet can be distressing. The combined gratification and joy to be back out in the world from both the audience and performers is the real spring awakening of Bloom (even if post-show boogies are a no-no for now).
Elsewhere in the program, Thirsty Thursdays (Nov 12, 19 and 26), a musical soiree served up with a three-course dinner, is hosted by the ever-dapper Andrew Bukenya, accompanied by special guests. Miss Cairo presents Miss Kaly and Mama Alto (via Zoom) in a showcase of trans fabulousness, Where’s the T? (Nov 7). Comedy meets lip-synching mastery in gender-diverse pageant Kings, Queens & Jokers (also Nov 7) Hosted by Malcom XY, the magnificence continues with Frida Deguise, Suren Jayemanne and King Latin Lover.
Halloween can’t steal all the scary stuff, with Friday the 13th (of November) launching burlesque sensation Spook Show. Combining death-defying circus performance art, drag and decolonised narratives, the ridiculously good line-up includes Felicia Foxx, circus bad boy Dale Woodbridge-Brown, Victoria Falconer, Demon Derriere and Euthan Asian.
If you haven’t heard the smooth sounds of the sublime Odette yet, run, don’t walk to book tickets to her Great Southern Nights gig. Book of Mormon star Elenoa Rokobaro leads a jamming band through renditions of Etta James, Beyoncé and Alicia Keys on November 21, and we’re all about that brass with stomping Hot Potato Band. It all comes to a head on November 28 with Bev Kennedy, Daniel Belle, Andrew Bukenya and Robert McDougall in the four-way Show Stoppers. So get set for a wild ride, jump to it and dive in here for the full line-up. Get ready to shake off those cobwebs in style.
“It’s a rolling program that can adapt to the changing tide of government restrictions,” says co-artistic director Amylia Harris. “The world has changed and, as an arts organisation, we must listen and respond. We can’t simply pick up where we left off. It’s time to explore the new normal… we have to embrace the opportunities we have right now.”
Sounds good? Find out more about Great Southern Nights here.