47 stories by "Rowan James"
With more than 130 thousand YouTube subscribers and over 24 million views, Christina Bianco's skill as an impressionist has reached a wide and international audience. While she may be best k…
It's only been four years since intergalactic transsexuals last graced the Festival Centre's stage. Leaving the theatre in March of 2014, surrounded by fishnet-enthused masses, I felt…
Adelaide Cabaret Festival artistic directors, Ali McGregor and Eddie Perfect, have put together an exceptional program this year. Thankfully, they have extended the traditional definition of…
With South Australian audiences already enthralled by the magical storytelling of the great Roald Dahl (thanks to Matilda the Musical playing at the Festival Theatre), Elise McCann has broug…
World premiers are great: the excitement and anticipation is palpable, the nervous energy heightens the performance and, when the subject matter is Kylie, you know you're in for a treat! Mic…
With a Tony and an Olivier Award in the cabinet, Alan Cumming has scaled the heights of musical and theatrical achievement, but there is so much more to him than his stage and screen credits…
Many of the works of Roald Dahl are built on familiar foundations: that of a child's fanciful fantasy and the enduring pursuit of good over evil, with an undercurrent of villainous mayhem at…
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1952 release, Singin' in the Rain, is the type of film that you can watch a hundred times and still find it exciting, engaging, and engrossing. On the first viewing you…
The Sound of Music is best known for its 1965 film adaptation renowned for the sweeping landscapes, the catchy Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes and of course, Julie Andrews. The movie is so …
Sven Ratzke's Starman " a sold-out success at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival " is a powder keg of energy and enthusiasm, primed to explode! The show heroes the music of the late, great David …
Songs in Film is a simple concept for a cabaret show " a review of the greatest music from the silver screen. Joe Stilgoe takes this simple idea and transforms it into an outstanding, unforg…
The vibrant rhythms of Latin America are on show in Emma Pask’s Latin Fiesta. The feisty horns, toe-tapping beats, and the phenomenal bass lines, along with Emma’s grasp of Spani…
Have you ever wondered what the Australian political landscape would look like if Gough Whitlam survived the 1975 Constitutional Crisis, if Tony Abbott didn't eat that onion, or if Harold Ho…
A comedy trio, a symphony orchestra and video games galore " This Gaming Life is a rather pleasing, albeit unexpected, union of cabaret components. In a unique fusion of comedy, nerdery and …
Lets get this out of the way up front: nothing, no combination of meagre words, can convey the magic and technical brilliance of 1927's Golem. This really is the type of production that, abo…
The Adelaide Cabaret Festival, where there are no rules, becomes a classroom in Hannah Gadsby's show, Art Lite. Armed with a lectern, a PowerPoint presentation and a nifty laser pointer, Gad…
Two decades worth of hits, innumerable studio albums, scandals, image revamps, an unwavering rock and roll lifestyle and delusions of grandeur. This could describe several well-known rock ba…
It's convenient to imagine that the glitz and glamour of show business transcends the stage. One might assume that artists are blessed with a glittering and shiny 'everyday life' that suitab…
The undeniable Queen of Kamikaze Kabarett has, upon the request of new Cabaret Festival curator, returned to Adelaide to stupefy audiences with her audacious, vivacious, and brave cabaret st…
Richard Mercer's long running late night radio program, Love Songs and Dedications, was a melting pot of stories and insights on love. Strangers from all walks of life would call in, in the …
If the yardstick for measuring the quality of a musical is the length of time you keep humming away at the music afterwards, then Grease is one of the best musicals I have seen. Toe tapping,…
As the Adelaide Cabaret Festival approached its finale for 2014, two highly anticipated stars (both of whom had individually dazzled Adelaide audiences in previous festivals), were preparing…
Even though Harold Arlen may not be a household name, you have definitely heard his music. If we gauge musical success through sheer number of compositions, or the longevity of songs, Arlen …
The King's Singers demonstrated exactly why they are the most celebrated male a cappella group with their performance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, with a show that found a winning combi…
There's No Business Like Show Business for the Kermond family, and at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival there was no less than 124 years of showbiz experience on display. Such experience and pas…
