[FRINGE] dance as if no one is looking and make love as if you were being filmed

[reverancepavane]

The reason for going to the Garden last night was to see Le Gateau Chocolat, courtesy of a friend of a friend who was the cellist for the show (and yes, my maxim still holds). Now Le Gateau Chocolat is the lycra-clad stage persona of a delightful baritone drag act who had been a part of the La Clique and A Company of Strangers shows in previous Fringes. This was his first solo act, and aided by his trusty clothes-rack "Bruce" (and the aformentioned cellist Lisi and pianist Dave), did a wonderful stage show, ably engaging the audience and getting them (mostly) to overcome their inhibitions and even dress up in lycra themselves. [Although the cellist in a lycra suit about six times too big for her was rather amusing cute* [cf maxim]. The motto of the show was really "sing as if you were in the shower, and dance as if no one is looking." In other words, be happy with yourself and live your life the way you want to live it, but have fun doing so. And don't be afraid to paaarrrteh! A nice artifice was that the show varied between "backstage" on "on stage" (both were on the stage). Whilst backstage he was able to change costume and sing the melancholic songs of both lost love and new love found; whilst on stage he was able to go full drag diva. And yes, he was a very talented singer, but as I do (living in the moment), I've forgotten most of the songs he actually sang (apart from Old man river). But they were good. Particularly the melancholy love songs (but then I'm an old softie at heart). As with all good performers of this calibre, his love for the music and the performance (not to mention being inordinately proud of debuting his first solo show in Adelaide where he had developed the character), was what truly made the show exceptional. * Which is a suitable alternative to seeing my traditional Fringe performance of My Friend The Chocolate Cake, I suppose. ** And if she ever reads this then I'm definitely not getting any more complementary tickets. <grin> [Although I still hold to my maxim that all cellists are cute. Even if they are a 6'4", bearded, overweight, and extensively tatooed male biker. Still cute!]

Comments

[dalmeny]

Lisi, not Lisa. It's an Austrian contraction of Elisabeth, IIRC. It's strange to think you've rarely met, given how long I've known you both.

Songs I remember Le Gateau singing:

something I didn't recognise to start with,

something by Barbara Streisand,

Creep by Radiohead,

I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables,

Old Man River,

Holiday by Madonna,

The Ship Sing by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,

Nessun Dorma by Puccini,

forgotten what he sang for the encore.

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

Ooops. I do seem to be getting all sorts of names wrong at the moment. My deepest apologies to Lisi. [And no, it's not really that surprising. We tend to move in different circles. Or at least, she moves in a different circle, I move in an oblong (high eccentricity).] And thank you for the song list. I'm really bad at remembering the elements (such as individual songs) of a great performance, unless it is particularly iconic, since I just start to float away on the general ambience of the event. Although I do suspect there were two songs by Barbara in there.

[dalmeny]

I had some of those songs stuck in my head for days.

I agree, it was a great performance. He's excellent at conveying emotion with his singing. If he comes back next year, I'll happily see him again. Frankly, if it weren't for the other 699 Fringe shows on this year, I'd consider going back for a second slice.