Billed as ‘the ultimate birthday bash’, the 2025 Variety Gala held special significance as a celebration of 25 years of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Hosted by Virginia Gay — the festival’s artistic director and “chief mischief maker” — this year’s event featured 13 performances across two acts. As always, it’s a brilliant kick-off to the festival and is the ideal way for audience members to discover new acts.
Jack Buckskin and daughter Mahleaha warmly welcomed us to Kaurna Country, and then, with the help of some dramatic lighting and a giant prop cake, host Gay got the party started with a Cab-Fest-specific adaptation of Pink’s hit and an impressive one-gulp downing of a glass of bubbles (accidentally drenching the lap of a chap in the front-row when her glass collided with his during an ill-aimed toss).
Davina and the Vagabonds plunged us into a wild New Orleans vibe with ‘Start Running’, followed by Natalie Abbott’s heartfelt medley (‘Help’ / ‘Being Alive’), and Tomáš Kantor’s cheeky (and very funny) intro to sugar-baby life with his interpretation of Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’.
Victoria Falconer, wending her way around the aisles while wrangling a violin, an accordion, a singing saw and several kazoo-playing audience members, revealed what happens when “high art meets low art, meets very low art”. It was a taste of the seductive silliness that will be on offer in the festival’s ‘lush and glittering after-hours playground’, The Parlour.
International “goddess of song” Rizo closed Act One with a mighty rendition of ‘Freedom’, a song conceived in the wake of a particularly ill-timed (and psychedelically medicated) relationship demise. She shared her joy at being in Adelaide, revealing her disdain for the current state of affairs in her home country, the United States, but not devoid of hope, encouraging us to “find the vein of glitter” when in the depths of despair.
Opening Act Two without need of an introduction, Vika and Linda Bull raised the post-interval energy with their familiar powerhouse harmonies, note perfect with Feeling Good. Carlotta, Australian cabaret royalty, was a shimmering vision in a pastel gown, boa and matching headwear. She made the classic ‘I’m Still Here’ her own, earning a raucous standing ovation and then more cheers after being awarded this year’s Cabaret Icon award. Michelle Brasier — who brings two shows to this year’s festival — got some of the biggest laughs of the night with Young Love in the Summertime, her hilariously blunt Aussie ode to back-of-the-shed romantic fumblings in the schoolyard.
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Each year, the festival facilitates the Class of Cabaret, an opportunity for a group of older teens to hone their performing skills. Noah Byrne, a participant in last year’s class, so impressed the artistic director that he earned himself a spot in this year’s gala. Only 18, he proved that he’s already well on the way to becoming an accomplished creator, singer and musician, pulling off a complex medley with ease. Seann Miley Moore and Brendan de la Hay teamed up for a gutsy and extravagantly costumed ‘That’s Life’ medley, before Jess Hitchcock stole the show with ‘Feels Like Home’, a magnetic performance that centred her crystal clear, soaring voice. An ensemble finale gave us a final reminder of the breadth talent in this year’s program.
Yes, as expected, there was an abundance of tulle, sequins and slinky fabrics (in the audience as well as on stage), complementing the purple velvet opulence of Kathryn Sproul’s set design. Musical director Shanon D Whitelock and the gala band delivered dynamic backup and, as we were promised at the start of the evening, this year’s gala was “all killer, no filler”. It was a night of jaw-dropping vocal talent — an impressive selection from the program on offer over the next three weeks.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival runs from June 5 to June 21 at the Adelaide Festival Centre