No. Little Egypt’s Speakeasy is not an Alexandrian night club.
It is the burlesque world of a legendary performer called Little Egypt.
Hence, stepping into The Deluxe in The Garden of Unearthly Delights will take audiences not far away but far ago - to the 1950s and into the working world of a wonderful “whiskey-soaked” exotic dancer.
As the show’s creator, Lucian McGuinness explains: “The real Little Egypt was a pre-war vaudeville fictional character inhabited by several performers. Our Little Egypt is based loosely on the subject of the Lieber & Stoller song written in the 1950s... to us she's a strong matriarch, a desired sex symbol and ultimately our hero.”
McGuinness has been working long and passionately on this show which began as Little Egypt’s Burlesque, a rhythm and blues revue which featured in the Spiegeltent in the Sydney Festival of 2012.
"We've built this show from the ground up,” says McGuinness.
“We began at the foundations with that incredible groove of rhythm & blues music which sits just outside the early rock & roll that oldies stations play and we'll all heard.
"Over the last few years with each run we've added characterisations, dances, narrative elements and ultimately purely theatrical characters. We update it and refine it every season. We also collect gorgeous new cast members!”
The cast of 14 is described as "Sydney’s hottest performers” and the soundtrack is said to be “scorching”.
Among the performers is Miss Burleque Sydney, a Voice finalist and a rhythm and blues band. They’re jetting in from all over the country for the big weekend.
It is not a passive sit-down-and-watch show. The Deluxe gets a makeover so that audiences will walk right into the 1950s and Little Egypt’s Speakeasy. Those in the know may frock up to the 50s to be more in the mood although it is not required dress.
But, the idea is that audience members kick up their heels, dance and have a Speakeasy experience. It is “immersive” theatre. The soundtrack includes Fats Domino, Big Mama Thornton, Ray Charles and, importantly, The Coasters whose song, Little Egypt, was one of the inspirations for the show.
There is a story line, however. It describes an R&B club under threat from external forces. It’s an old story that keeps on keeping on through the eras, albeit this one is emphatically 50s.
"We pack A LOT into seventy minutes,” declares McGuinness.
“Our audiences rave about the super fast and tight pace, the quality and danceability of the live music and the spectacle of Little Egypt's routines and the drama surrounding the club”.
“Slick, sexy and funny,” says one critic. “Dirty dancing, debauchery and some real good soul,” says another.
Samela Harris
Presented by Grande Moustache
Over the long weekend, from Tuesday March 5 at the stroke of midnight and then through to Sunday. The Deluxe. GUD.
When: 5 to 8 Mar
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
