★★★
Boy, do these guys know how to put on a fun show.
The Sydney Opera House has seen cabaret and circus in the past. It has been draped in debauchery, it has seen audiences dancing in the aisles, and will see them dance there again. But few productions manage to unite these with such bombastic pleasure, and without the show becoming overly cluttered. Indeed, the strength of Velvet is that it keeps its metaphorical plates spinning with ease, and while audience members may not leave particularly wiser for the experience – a conventional history of disco this ain’t – they will certainly leave with toes tapping and the glint of a mirror ball revolving in their eyes.
For that reason, while Velvetis one of the most unabashedly fun performances I’ve seen lately, it also follows a rather ramshackle structure. The narrative mostly acts as a loose rail by which each vignette – singing, dancing, aerial spectacles, burlesque, acrobatics – can be arranged; characters exist, but are more archetypical than endearing.
Brendan Maclean is our journeyman, a wide-eyed innocent who finds himself marooned in a land of intoxicating sounds and dazzling sights. He has stumbled into Boogie Wonderland, populated by acrobats, teasing burlesque players and seductively shimmering dancing girls, and all presided over by the Disco Queen herself, Marcia Hines.Hines has four decades of performance to her name now, and doesn’t miss a beat. From her very first appearance the audience is entranced, and she plays up to the crowd with great charm, dropping winks and raising eyebrows, acknowledging individual presences. She’s a pro, and sets a strong example that the rest of the cast does its best to match.
There is something about Maclean that just keeps drawing the eye. He embraces the stage with the confidence of a much older performer, and his vocals are exceptional. Particular mention must go to his heartbreaking cover of ‘Staying Alive’, a stirring highlight of the night. Craig Reid, AKA The Incredible Hula Boy, is easily the crowd favourite, while aerialist Emma Goh is truly dazzling as she gyrates and contorts high above.
With a soundtrack composed of disco’s finest – ‘Shake Your Groove Thing’, ‘Turn The Beat Around’, ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ – the soundscape will be familiar to most patrons. At the end of the night, Velvet is an entertaining hodgepodge of glamour and groove, but falls short of being truly memorable.
Velvetis playing at the Studio, Sydney Opera House until Sunday November 22.
