Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Spiegeltent. 11 Jun 2022
This is the oddest out-there show in the CabFest.
It is a not-show show.
It is a DIY art class.
And isn’t it lovely there in the Spiegeltent, comfortably warm on a cold winter’s day? Surrounded by charming Festival attendants.
Musicians play wallpaper jazz as we would-bes take our seats in a semi-circle.
The stage is adorned by a chaise longue, a piano, a pot of fern, a lamp, and a bentwood chair.
It’s a lovely setting.
Everyone gets a board, paper, a pencil, and a piece of charcoal and then most agreeable artist, Ruby Chew, encourages the would-be artists to sketch the very lovely Burlesque Queen Letitia Stitch.
Ruby does not want to push the free flow of her students. She advises more than demonstrates. She makes it just a bit harder as we go along. Single-line. Opposite hand. Heavens above, one works better with the wrong hand. Which says a lot about the aptitude of the student. People compare works. They are pretty dire. Laughs.
Our gorgeous model changes pose. Oh, my, doesn’t she have a good haircut. Lovely linear body in slimline white ruffled dress. Drawn thrice now from the rear. Hmm.
Cabaret artiste Rosie Russell comes along and adds some creamy vocals.
And the band plays on.
And, if one is proud of one’s work, there’s a can of fixative to spray on the charcoal before one leaves.
Maybe someone discovered unknown aptitude.
Some of us will keep the day job.
Samela Harris
When: 12 and 25 Jun
Where: The Spiegeltent
Bookings: adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au
