Fri 24 Feb, Pontardawe Arts Centre; Tue 28 Feb, Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen; Wed 29 Feb, Royal Welsh College Of Music & Drama, Cardiff; Fri 2 Mar, Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan; Sat 3 Mar, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Tickets: £8-£12. Info: www.cwtchcabaret.co.uk (includes ticket info for each venue)
Variety shows have traditionally been the last refuge of the unimaginative, and while their legacy lives on in the grey recesses of British seaside entertainment – plus, in effect, via shows like Britain’s Got Talent – no-one is likely to attend one expecting anything too cutting edge. Cwtch Cabaret is, in theory, a variety show: here’s a chap doing some juggling, here’s a couple doing some clowny circus-type sketches… oh goody, a Frank Sinatra act.
Except! The (sur)reality behind Cwtch Cabaret, devised and presented by Citrus Arts, is somewhat different. The circus couple are Chris Lynam and Kate McKenzie, who also appeared as comperes on the revue’s first tour in autumn last year; Kate is the ringmistress who has the task of keeping Chris from terrorizing the audience too much. The juggler is Luke Wilson, a veteran of the cabaret scene and able to juggle up to five clubs with hands, feet or face (that’s face). And the Mafia-steeped easy listening icon is in fact Frank Sanazi, who sings in the style of Frank from the perspective of Hitler, which I assume leaves the door open for an ‘Ol’Blond Hair Blue Eyes’ joke. He went down a treat at Edinburgh last year, if that sways you.
Add two more performers to the melee – aerial/contortion artist Petra Lange and Australian circus prankster Jess Love, who reportedly excels in “dirty acrobatics” – and the scene is set for another evening of eyebrow-singeing physical theatre out of leftfield. There are five dates in this area to choose from, plus one in Caernarfon on Thurs 1 Mar if you find yourself oop north.