Disco 100  | Connections Nightclub | Two show remain 16+17 February | ★ ★ ★ 

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Disco 100 promises to recreate the disco heyday of New York’s legendary nightclub Studio 54, get on the dance floor as DJ Wildflower works her was through 100 disco tunes in 90 minutes alongside performances from dancers, singers, drag queens and even drag queens singers.

The rule of the show is everyone on the dance floor, no sitting down, but pretty quickly it resembles a traditional disco with all the ladies on the dance floor while husbands holding handbags populate the periphery.

DJ Wildflower wastes no time getting into the classic disco tunes opening up with The Nolan’s I’m in the Mood for Dancing, but no sooner have you got into the groove and let your body sway than the cross-fader slides over to bring in another disco classic.

DJ Wildflower mashes, smashes and crashes the disco tunes together, each mix a bona fide train wreck, but it doesn’t matter, the crowd are here to relive their 70’s disco days. In record pace we work our way though the classics of K.C and the Sunshine Band, The Bee Gees, Diana Ross and The Hues Corporation.

Each song is only spinning for a minute, no sooner had the first chorus passed, and we’re onto another tune. Lesser known disco hits, like numbers from Gladys Knight or Arabesque, got even shorter spins. As soon as the crowd’s enthusiasm dipped for a second, the tune was thrown away for something more familiar.

Behind the decks DJ Wildflower is having the time of her life, her infectious enthusiasm spurring on the crowd, She dances, she claps, she does the running man, she twiddles a lot of knobs – although a lot of that is probably just for show.

The show is punctuated by live performances from dancers and singers, two cute boys leap on to the stage with a dance routine for the Pointer Sister’s I’m So Excited. 

Feminem the Future appears, delivering a great live rendition of Kool and the Gang’s Celebration, two more singers work through a medley of classic disco tunes including ‘Aint No Mountain High Enough.

Ginava brings a beautifully snarling take on Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, returning later for the iconic and camp Finally. 

A burlesque performer appears as Donna Summer’s I Feel Love fills the club. Suddenly all the peripheral husbands have stopped looking at their phones and are now fully attentive to what’s going on stage.

As the show ramps up to its crescendo the big disco hits come flying fast, there’s KISS, The Village People and a health dollop of ABBA.

Disco 100 was a fun party, but you couldn’t help but think that’s its individual elements of a dance floor, disco tunes, swooping lights, drag queens, and dress-ups, is actually on offer four nights a week at the same venue, for $5.00 less than the cost of this show.

But if you like to be home in bed before 1am, and want your camp clubbing experience condensed into a solid 90 minute dance floor workshop then you’ll love this experience.

We gave an extra star for playing The Nolans, but then we took it away when Womack & Womack’s Teardrops came on – that tune came out two years after Studio 54 closed it doors.

The inclusion of Sylvester’s iconic gay anthem You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) regained the star, but then we took it away again when 90’s club banger Finally by CeCe Penniston was included.

Get tickets to the final two outings of Disco 100 at Fringe World.

Graeme Watson