Strut & Fret Production House’s first show of 2016 lands inside the Sydney Opera House Studio, peppered with flesh, flips, spins and a ridiculous amount of champagne. Vintage white and gold is the theme, a little bit of flair if you wish – no biggie. You enter and you’re immersed in a world of Moët & Chandon bottles, sparkles and bubbles laced around tables and chairs amongst both floors of the venue. The lights are bright and beheld is an extravagant yet neat stage – boasting a singular platform atop two spiralling staircases.
French-born model and internationally acclaimed performer, Monsieur Romeo opens the show with dialogue that is crisp yet slightly misunderstood as the crowd sit baffled trying to grip onto German phrases. Globally renowned sidekick Spencer Novich aids occasionally with an attempt at a comedic touch, leaving drabs of laughter to be heard. It’s not until George Gershwin’s 1924 jazz band epic “Rhapsody in Blue” rings out that the show finally gets underway, albeit fortunately with an impressive act.
The show hosts a wealth of international acts and performers, it’s a commingling of burlesque and cabaret styled acts infused with circus trickery and antics that keep the show alive when it needs it the most. Broadway-tamed Russian acrobat Masha Terentieva is hoisted above hundreds locked on to a luggage trolley as it spun endlessly and she hooped in and out, inches above some audience members.
Most performances involved all artists getting a piece of the action – Japanese break dancer and contortionist Shun Sugimoto had some in awe dressed in suspenders, always present during the large numbers and expressing his unique impressionistic dancing style and body strength. Laura New, Jaimi Luhrmann and Emma Maye Gibson are Australia’s own, each given the limelight temporarily to execute an array of moves that have you at a loss for words. Gibson had a sparkling firecracker lodged between her cheeks whilst a selected member was given the luxury of a lap dance.
Full frontal nudity signage was sprawled upon entry, and you get your fair share of exposure in the two hours. The girls twisted and tantalised patrons in wicked ways and dressed in bubbled costumes. There was submissive/dominant foreplay riddled through downstairs seating with the men dressed in leather cat outfits too. Dominque Domingo and Jerome Sordillon are the last two of the international acrobats, sliding down staircases and launching from side to side connected to straps.
As a performance, the show went nowhere. The writing didn’t connect with what you saw. It revolved around drinking champagne, tasting champagne, talking about champagne, and drinking more champagne. However, it is a sight to see talented artists do so much with their bodies in such limited spaces. A real show with a small amount of insipid scripting.
This performance runs through to February 28th, 2016. For tickets and more details: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/blanc_de_blanc.aspx
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