Review: Tastings Cabaret

Festival co-director and event curator, Dani Asciak, highlighted an important point in her introduction to the Tastings Cabaret event: cabaret is an integral part to Mudfest. An art form that is rarely seen on campus, Mudfest provides the perfect medium to exhibit these personal, musical stories. This makes Tastings Cabaret a welcome addition to the festival program, allowing new performers the chance to write and workshop a cabaret with industry professionals Karlis Zaid and Trevor Jones. It was also a successful event for audiences as well, allowing them to experience three diverse and entertaining performances.

A blurry Allie Sutherland on the Tastings stage

The first cabaret for the event was “I could have been an actress”, performed by the talented Allie Sutherland. Her very personal account of balancing the stress of completing a thesis with a love of theatre was a joy to watch. It was a very relatable view into the stress of study, and was performed honestly and with such passion. The use of musical theatre songs was also very effective.

The second performance, “Reading an erotic novel at a late age”, was a sharp contrast to the traditional cabaret format the audience was expecting. Written by Sharon Flyn, this piece used minimal music and focused on a more traditional, dramatic ‘back and forth’ between two elderly women. It was a refreshing change of pace, and the two performers, Alex Parke and Hannah Roe, were both extremely entertaining as the women.

Closing the night was Jessica Gulasekharam’s “Don’t call us, we’ll call you”, an exploration of the pursuit of fame. Featuring entirely original songs, the cabaret showcased Jessica’s many talents, with her flute and piano duet being a highlight. While she may not have become a “mega star”, she dazzled the audience with her account of her attempts.

Special mention must be made of the set-up of the evening. Using a combination of cabaret tables and traditional seating in the rear (reminiscent of UHT’s “Trans-mute”), the space in the Guild theatre was made more personal in order to match the performances. The simple staging of a rug and hanging fairy lights were also very effective and added warmth and definition to the small stage area.

This was the first Tasting Cabaret event to be run under Mudfest, and I hope it continues through future events. It is refreshing to see theatre’s shorter, more musical cousin performed on campus and by such enthusiastic, new performers. Here is to the triumphant return of Mudfest Cabaret!