lf. I was staying in Victoria but got a bit lost trying to find Buckingham Palace and ended up walking over to Piccadilly Circus. I saw a flier for the musical Shockheaded Peter which looked right up my alley. I loved this show so much I did two paintings based on the singers and became their biggest fan when the show came to Chicago seeing atleast seven performances. Not since then have I enjoyed a show so much, not until last night that is. I was blogging away a few weeks ago when I heard a morning show on TV advertising a sort of circusy, magical, musical dinner show called La Soiree held at the Melba Spiegeltent. The show looked great but the "tent" itself is what sold me. A spiegeltent is a travelling performance arena. This particular one was built in 1910 and is much more than just a tent. The inside is gorgeous with stained glass mirrors and antique wooden booths. I was completely suckered in when I read that both Edith Piaf and Kurt Weill had performed in this very tent. For those of you who think you don't know Kurt 
Weill's music I promise you do. He is one of my favorite musical/opera composers especially his collaborations with playwright, Bertolt Brecht including Happy End, Mahagonny and The Three Penny Opera. Any Doors fans will know his work from "Alabama Song" (Mahagonny) but by far his most famous song is "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"(Three Penny Opera). People are much more likely to recognise the tune as Bobby Darin sang it, "Mack the Knife". I called Matt and said "Can we go?? PLEASE? PLEASE?" I think He actually got just as excited as I was.As soon as we set foot in the Melba Spiegeltent we knew we had made a good decision. These mobile theatres are making a resurgence after almost going extinct. They couldn't compete with movies so the s
hows became more risque until turning the spiegeltent into a "waffle brothel" with "hooch"dancing before eventually being packed off completely. Thank goodness for the return of vaudeville and slapstick is all I can say. The show absolutely lived up to the history of the spiegeltent with magic, acrobatics, music and a little dancing reminiscent of Gypsy Rose Lee except with roller skates. Some of the performers had toured with Cirque du Soleil and appeared in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!. The show was topped off with a drunk (acting) drag queen singing a blues version of Waltzing Matilda. Fabulous!
hows became more risque until turning the spiegeltent into a "waffle brothel" with "hooch"dancing before eventually being packed off completely. Thank goodness for the return of vaudeville and slapstick is all I can say. The show absolutely lived up to the history of the spiegeltent with magic, acrobatics, music and a little dancing reminiscent of Gypsy Rose Lee except with roller skates. Some of the performers had toured with Cirque du Soleil and appeared in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!. The show was topped off with a drunk (acting) drag queen singing a blues version of Waltzing Matilda. Fabulous! Some times the
dinner part of "dinner theatre" is subpar but the Melba did not disappoint in this arena either. The menu was inspired by the places this spiegeltent began her journey in 1910, Belgium, Germany and Holland. There was a game dish including rabbit tortellini and spatchcock(young, spit roasted chicken) and a "trio of duck" dish. I felt a tiny bit guilty about the duck since I have have my duck friends here at the house but what can you do?? Of course there was Peach Melba for dessert.
dinner part of "dinner theatre" is subpar but the Melba did not disappoint in this arena either. The menu was inspired by the places this spiegeltent began her journey in 1910, Belgium, Germany and Holland. There was a game dish including rabbit tortellini and spatchcock(young, spit roasted chicken) and a "trio of duck" dish. I felt a tiny bit guilty about the duck since I have have my duck friends here at the house but what can you do?? Of course there was Peach Melba for dessert. It is a wonderful thing to be transported back to a different time by theatre and La Soiree
did just that. I can get very antsy sitting in the same place for a long time. I know that if I really want to stay in my seat and see more then it's a great show. One thing that I should know better from working in theatre is that actors may not be all excited like you are after seeing a new, fantastic performance. We talked to one performer after the show and while friendly, he was tired (rightly so as he bore the brunts of most of the physical stuff) and seemed a bit over the repetitiveness of doing the same prat-falls and acrobatics every night. Some times it is better to stay away from actors off stage to keep the illusion going. I want to use the characters of La Soiree in a painting. I am supposed to be working on portraits for my show in Chicago but when inspiration strikes.... If you live in Melbourne definitely go check out the Melba Spiegeltent!
did just that. I can get very antsy sitting in the same place for a long time. I know that if I really want to stay in my seat and see more then it's a great show. One thing that I should know better from working in theatre is that actors may not be all excited like you are after seeing a new, fantastic performance. We talked to one performer after the show and while friendly, he was tired (rightly so as he bore the brunts of most of the physical stuff) and seemed a bit over the repetitiveness of doing the same prat-falls and acrobatics every night. Some times it is better to stay away from actors off stage to keep the illusion going. I want to use the characters of La Soiree in a painting. I am supposed to be working on portraits for my show in Chicago but when inspiration strikes.... If you live in Melbourne definitely go check out the Melba Spiegeltent!
