Everything old is new again. It’s the way it is and always will be – a constant revival and recreation of everything that’s gone before, with twists, just to keep it fresh for those experiencing it the first time and vital for those living through it again.
The same can be said of cabaret. Musical movies like Moulin Rouge and Chicago brought music back to the big screen. Now Glee has reinvigorated the small screen.
But it’s in the more intimate smaller venues, like Downstairs At His Maj, that the real resurgence is taking place. Here, a swathe of shiny bright small scale productions is springing to life with song and dance.
The Twink & The Showgirl is one such production, a generational clash that pits a dear old queen against a rambunctious Gen Y twink.
‘It’s really a very funny show,’ said Vincent Hooper, who plays The Twink.
‘The general narrative running through the show is the relationship Phil and I have and the chemistry there is between us and that we have on stage.
‘We’ve been working together for a while now and we’ve known each for a couple of years and particularly because I live in Sydney – I’m a Perth boy originally.’
The show itself starts in the piano bars of yore, with Phil Scott (The Showgirl) telling the audience about how men used to pick up men with show tunes. Certainly none of this Grindr malarkey.
There’s even music that Scott – who worked as a script consultant for Priscilla Queen of the Desert – has written himself, such as the super catchy tune Gen X (‘I’m a boy of Generation X / Live for shopping and casual sex).
The show itself is a surprising mash of classics, the camp, and the incredibly catchy.
‘Expect the unexpected,’ said Hooper of the show’s playlist. ‘Everything is used in different ways.
‘We have Sweet Dreams, a real ’80s song, mixed with Rogers and Hammerstein and Mika goes into Beautiful Baby into Tina Turner’s What’s Love Got To Do With It.
So how does Hooper feel representing Gen Y, a generation who are constantly sledged in the media over their need for instant gratification and wayward attitude?
‘I am Gen Y but I don’t really feel like I’m a Gen Y.
‘I do like all my pretty new things and technology, but I guess the older generation don’t like Gen Y as much as we would like them to.
‘In the gay world I think that Gen Y can be quite mean to the older gay generation and forget a lot of the things they did to pave the way and get us to where we are today.
‘And I think the clash starts there because the twinks walk into the bars with their little pink shirts and think they just own the town. I can imagine the older generation look at them and think “Mmm, ok honey – calm downâ€.’
The Twink & The Showgirl kicks up its heels Downstairs at His Maj from Thursday July 15 to Saturday July 17. www.bocsticketing.com.au
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
