To say that Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett serves us the tallest, most electrifying glass of punk cabaret and literal fire-catching circus arts just wouldn’t cut it. It was a pure and utter gin-drenched sanctuary.
Immediately as you take your seat inside the Meadows circus tent, you are not only spectating the performance, the performance is spectating you. Circling the audience like a sea of hungry sharks, the darkly ravishing performers tease and pull you into fiercely intimate gazes. Haus Band’s intoxicating set re-evaluates what it means to “feel the music” as it gratifyingly drags smoke down your lungs. The iconic red and blue bar lights flash and caress the stage, never ceasing to visually amaze. Then Bernie steps out of the curtains, and she is this glamorous orb of light in what suddenly feels like a world of fatal darkness.
Her voice is a cocktail of assertiveness and geniality, creating a hypnotic, mellow effect. Her stage presence is wicked and enchanting as she comes over and makes the men in the audience stroke her thigh and carry her back to the stage. At the same time, Bernie charms the audience with heartfelt hospitality, telling us to let go of our burdens and give it all to them, like our coats are for them to hang. Then, she sings “just take your skin off and dance.”
If there was one thing I took away from the show, it was that we are not doomed. The show doesn’t just put us under a spell, it saves us from it. As simulated and isolated as we may be, we are still able to be truly captivated by the present. Scenes that might disturb us or challenge our realms of comfort are met with our full engagement– whether we’re holding our breath during their riskiest of circus acts, or gasping as male genitalia gets slammed into cake. I honestly think it’s because deep down we are all freaks, punks, and weirdos, and we’re all living in this world together.
Last night left a deep and wounding imprint on me, and I don’t think I’ll ever truly recover. Just as I was thinking to myself that I didn’t want this show to end, Bernie sings “don’t think about the morning because you’re here tonight.” This show absolutely wrecked me. Watch it and you’ll come out more alive than you’ve ever been.
Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett is running until 23 August at The Beauty at Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Alexis D Lea, provided to The Student as press material.