What can you tell us about your background in cabaret and performance?
I discovered cabaret at university through a friend who was and still is heavily involved with cabaret and an inspiring university lecturer. At the time I was studying classical repertoire and opera at the University of Melbourne, and on the side I was dappling in music theatre, live art performance, theatre and jazz repertoire. I wrote my first cabaret in 2009, and then received an ArtStart grant in 2011 which sent me to Berlin and Paris to discover cabaret abroad. This was the game-changer; I met with teachers, musicians, writers and performers who all informed me of the history of cabaret performance. Cabaret is not about how pretty you sound, it’s about the language and how real you can be.
That Bad Eartha! has received great reviews around the country. What can audiences expect from the show?
It is a sexy, delightful and unpretentious hour of haughty comedy and burlesque, all the favourite Eartha Kitt songs accompanied by a talented three-piece jazz outfit with a squeeze of titillating audience interaction. Going into its third year, a few numbers have been swapped/added and we’ve got a band to vamp it up!
What was it about Eartha Kitt that inspired you?
There is so much; it’s her unapologetic, witty, sharp, and sexy demeanour. She was a hopeless romantic who never compromised who she was and what she wanted in life. She wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t the greatest singer, but she was a star who knew how to connect with people and get what she wanted.
The cabaret is showing during Mardi Gras 2015 – what’s the connection between Eartha, the LGBTQI community and your show?
Eartha not only battled her own politics with race and sex, but she battled the rights for other people too. She believed that everyone was equal and we weren’t defined by our colour or sexual preference. This show celebrates who you are, and not giving a fuck about what others think or ‘feel’ you should be or who you should be with or what you should do and how you should live your life. It’s about love, and being free.
Danielle Asciak appears inThat Bad Eartha! atOxford Hotel onSaturday February 28.
