By Amy Iles, third year Theatre and Performance Studies

"Whilst I was unsure at the start of the performance whether this was entirely my cup of tea, it soon dawned on me that this wasn’t a show for tea-lovers." Amy Iles reviews ...

Some say that variety is the spice of life, and Rodney and Alexandra’s cabaret, The Decadent Rabbit, is certainly not lacking in spice. Having never experienced this type of performance before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sitting at a large circular table in the middle of the beautiful interior of Circomedia, I felt a little underdressed and, although I didn’t realise it yet, I was even more unprepared for what was about to come than I imagined. However, despite feeling a little out of place at first, Rodney’s candid and humorous guidance as compere soon put a smile on my face that made my cheeks ache by the end of the show.

This smile was maintained by the weird and wonderful variety of performers that entertain throughout the evening. There is the shockingly funny ‘Melina Cheapshot’, whose hula-hooping and stand-up segments flaunt both her physical prowess and her wicked wit. Then comes ‘Kiki Lovechild’; a mime whose art of chapeaugraphy (a 400-year-old act where a ring of felt is made to look like various types of hat) is astoundingly clever. He also gives the show a charming, Christmassy finish by creating his own snowstorm, making hundreds of tiny pieces of paper appear and fly from his hands, showering the audience- very fitting to mark the start of advent.

"some of the tricks and routines did show cracks (and yes, that is an innuendo)"

Alexandra’s expert skills on the silks are truly a spectacle, not least for the fact that her costume consists only of a pair of flesh coloured shorts with a fabric vagina stitched on. The live foley which accompanies Rodney’s own routines, which mainly consist of juggling ping-pong balls using his mouth, is inspired and the musician’s own act of playing the saw is a truly beautiful moment in the show which shows real talent, something which all the artists possessed in excess.

Whilst I was unsure at the start of the performance whether this was entirely my cup of tea, it soon dawned on me that this wasn’t a show for tea-lovers. The cabaret is shocking, salacious and sexy and took me totally by surprise. Some of the tricks and routines did show cracks (and yes, that is an innuendo), and others I felt somewhat underwhelmed by. Nonetheless, the artists’ passion for this secreted genre ensured the utmost enjoyment throughout the night. If you’ve never experienced cabaret, I would definitely recommend it, just replace the PG Tips with something a little (or a lot) stronger.

★★★★

(Featured image: Unsplash / Sandy Millar)

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