Blanc de Blanc | Regal Theatre | Until Oct 23 | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
It is common practice for most any formal event to serve champagne to its guests. The iconic drink has long served as a symbol for opulence and wealth, the perfect way to start an elegant evening. Though the power of champagne lays in its effectiveness as a social lubricant, sending the bubbles straight to the head and fizzing into a frenzy of celebration.
Blanc de Blanc infuses the essence and culture of champagne into a spectacular cabaret show, pouring death defying acrobatics, contortion, burlesque, circus, nudity, comedy and a bunch of surprises into one incredible evening of performance.
Monsieur Romeo, a strapping hyper-stereotype of a Frenchman, serves as guide for the evening as the ensemble cast take the audience from pure class to a whole lot of ass, encouraging the audience to make the most of the in-room bar. The ceremony may have a demure opening, as would any black tie affair, but once those corks get popping is when the show really begins.
As the first performer began writhing her body around a porter’s luggage trolley held a few meters in the air with no safety harness, the tone of the show had been set. As the energy built to a climax, so too did the performances become more explicit and the performers less clothed.
A distressed audience member was surprised by a celebratory sparkler lit in a particularly unconventional way by performer Emma Maye, while Hampus Jansson and Milena Straczynski’s aerial performance left me needing a tall glass of cool water.
Monsieur Romeo’s attache Spencer was an absolute scene-stealer. Playing the goofball to Romeo’s Casanova during the inter act banter, the contorting harlequin drew massive laughs with one of the most bizarre, intense lip-sync performances that you won’t be seeing on RuPaul’s Best Friend Race.
Blanc de Blanc is an elegant, debaucherous and entirely enthralling ode to champagne. The whole performance is a beautifully choreographed imagining of glamorous soiree that descends into reckless abandon. The performers, infallible. The vibe, euphoric. A simple concept, exquisitely executed.
Blanc de Blanc is at Subiaco’s Regal Theatre until Sunday October 23rd. Tickets available from BlancShow.com
Leigh Andrew Hill
