There’s a golden rule in life seems to stick, irrespective of what gets thrown your way. It’s a simple rule, an infallible rule. It’s quite simply: chocolate makes everything better.
Now, when that chocolate appears as a Rubenesque black man with a panache for singing and kilos of drag called Le Gateau Chocolat, you can be sure that that simple golden rule will not only make everything better, it will leave you laughing, toe-tapping, and humming all the way home.
That was certainly the case after seeing Le Gateau Chocolat in his new Fringe World production, I Heart Chocolat.
The premise for the show is simple: audience members select a chocolate from a tray of assorted chocolate pieces and Gateau sings a song that reflects the flavour chosen.
On the night I saw him perform, we delved into the delightful depths of spicy ginger, raspberry, rum & raisin & chocolate that tasted like…well, chocolate.
The beauty and charm of Gateau’s show is that he is simply who he is, and it just so happens that he’s beyond fabulous. Add a voice that is deep, sultry and capable of hitting some extraordinary notes, and you’re in for a treat: not just a sweet chocolate treat, but the treat of seeing one of London’s most promising and developed cabaret performers.
Of particular interest is Gateau’s take on ‘Les Miserables’. That’s the film…not the stage production. Dressed in a full Dalmatian lycra body-suit. Gateau re-enacts all 7000 years of the film in a brief 7 minutes. And he does so with wry wit, aplomb and again…that voice! The result is side-splitting hilarity, the kind you get from the gluttony of a good time.
There is little else to add without taking away from Gateau’s show other than YOU MUST GO AND SEE HIM! His over-the-top presence is a blessing of belly laughs. And the best part is that the show comes complete with free chocolate…well, if you’re lucky enough to be swooped upon by this living legend and offered some.
Unfortunately, I had to starve through the show, but luckily Gateau left me full on the luxurious stylings of his singing voice, his perfectly timed comedic delivery and those fabulous, fabulous outfits.
Le Gateau Chocolat’s ‘I Heart Chocolat’ is on tonight and tomorrow night at De Parel Speigeltent in the Urban Orchard. Head to www.fringeworld.com.au to secure tickets.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell, image on this page: Vincent Long, feature image: Huw Jennings
