Cabaret Festival

Adelaide Cabaret Festival Review: Shay Stafford – Memoirs of a Showgirl

Memoirs of a Showgirl

Shay Stafford is Australia’s favourite showgirl. Her 13-year career dancing in Paris led to her being the principal dancer in the famous Moulin Rouge…

Memoirs of a ShowgirlPresented by Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed 08 June 2014

Hailing from a small town just outside of ‘Brisvegas’, Shay Stafford is Australia’s favourite showgirl. Her 13-year career dancing in Paris may have come to an end, but she proves to be as glamorous as ever in her Cabaret Festival show Memoirs of a Showgirl.

Stafford began dancing at a young age, beginning her career in a small Queensland theatre. She quickly rose to the top, ending up as principal dancer in the famous Moulin Rouge and performing in over six thousand shows! This show, based on the book of the same name by Stafford and her hubby Bryce Corbett, attempts to give the audience a glimpse behind the red curtain. It’s slightly less glitzy than anything you’d see in the City of Lights, but with a great cast of dancers, gymnasts and musicians to back her up, Stafford delivers a night of entertainment and care-free enjoyment.

The shows begin with a flashy video sequence that summarises Stafford’s career and gives us a whopping taste of France. It’s a well put-together piece and really gets the crowd excited. The first live number features Stafford lip-syncing and dancing to ‘Mein Herr’, which was unfortunately a little lacklustre after the video intro.

Things quickly pick up though when Duncan Brown emerges to perform an ascending ring routine. No human being should be able to hang in the air like that, let alone perform such crazy feats of gymnastics. The show goes on to feature the brilliant Can Canettes (Samara Kennedy, Adelaide Coghlan, Kim Miller) performing some great little dances and pulling of some impressive kicks and splits.

Mathew Carey taps the ivory of the piano incredibly well, and Ben Palumbo performs a skit, song and strip tease that brings the house down. Bryce Corbett acts as MC for the whole event and, while his jokes were a bit lame, he does a good job of tying the various aspects of the show together. With all the amazing talent on stage, it’s almost easy to overlook Stafford herself, who performs beautifully and commandingly in most of the numbers.

This show is all about celebrating the traditions of Moulin Rouge, but unfortunately it feels a little put-on and lacking in energy. It does a good job of trying to bring the Parisian vibe to Adelaide, but ultimately cannot live up to the hype. Despite that though, the dancing is superb, the performers are lively and charismatic, and the costumes are incredible. I can’t imagine how long it would take to sweep up all those feathers and sequins after the show is over.

Memoirs of a Showgirl is a great night of fun, laughs and sensual Parisian atmosphere that even those who aren’t big fans of the Moulin Rouge or Lido will enjoy!

Reviewed by James Rudd

Venue: Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, King William St
Season: 8-9 June
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
Tickets: $34.90 – $44.90
Bookings: Book online through the Adelaide Cabaret Festival website or phone BASS on 131 246

 

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