Strut & Fret Production House. The Garden of Unearthly Delights - Deluxe. 22 Feb 2015
Nigerian-born, London-raised, French-named Le Gateau Chocolat has returned to Adelaide with his brand new show, 'Icons.' Flamboyant and outrageous with gay abandon, and resembling his nom de theatre, dressed in dark cocoa colours and topped with impossibly long lashes, he quickly extends his credentials, including a cavernous baritone voice that shakes your bones.
The programme promises a show that investigates fame, in part through Le Gateau's own experience as a performer. However, I got the impression that Le Gateau recently had a purple patch and was encouraged to make this rather cathartic show. It comprised many heartfelt and honest revelations by the performer, led by a song he wrote and sang for the funeral of a friend and colleague.
Many other songs, chosen from a typically wide-ranging catalogue from opera to pop, looked into dark spaces. The set backdrop of a collage of photographs spoke to the past and remembrance. One thing Le Gateau does readily is change over the hair, and a number with a glowing golden lion's mane-like affair was transfixing. It seemed like the show he needed to do given the space he was in, and performers need to perform, don't they?
David Grybowski
When: 13 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: The Garden of Unearthly Delights - Deluxe
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
