Bangs, burlesque and the downright bizarre

On Thursday, Madam Arcati and I were pleased to get tickets for an event at one of our favourite cabaret venues, the Matcham Room at London's glittering Hippodrome - High Lights, billed as "an old style variety show", and hosted by none other than our old fave Dexter Clark, Mayfair’s foremost celebrity hairdresser!

The creation of the simply faboo Roger Lloyd-Thompson, Dexter was (like so many others) someone with whom I first made contact many years ago courtesy of MySpace, and we have followed his career as he emerged from that now-diminished site, via YouTube (unfortunately most of his classic video moments have now gone from there), to his storming live shows (see here and here). Having heard nothing of him for years, it was indeed good to have him back - and just as dismissive as ever of his celebrity clients (Kate Moss (“chemical streak”), Rebecca Brooks (“tawdry mane”), Katie Price (“thick up top”), Kerry Katona (“council house bangs”) and Britney Spears (“Mississippi muddy blonde”) among them).



His role on this occasion was not just to regale us with tales of his magnificent life, but also to introduce a swathe of other acts - or "interruptions" as he preferred to call them - to the Matcham Room stage.

So we were entertained (to varying degrees, admittedly) by the talented burlesque artiste Miss Giddy Heights (who opened the show with a rather fun piss-take of Kate Middleton, complete with willing helper from the audience as Wills, and closed it as a smutty Marie Antoinette), and by the bizarre Johnny MacCaulay (who performed as "Elvis - The Burger King of Rock and Roll", and in the second half, as a clown illusionist).





The internationally-renowned Romany, Diva of Magic (she's performed for Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Mick Jagger and HM The Queen, though possibly not at the same time) grabbed Tony up onto the stage as her stooge, which was quite bewildering, but fun...



Miss Velma von Bon Bon was fab both as a sharp-shooting cowgirl riding a large pink-feathered "terror-bird" and a "drunken" burlesque aerialist, prat-falling from some rather alarming heights. Funniest of all, however, was the oddball duo Raymond & Mr Timkins (described by The Guardian as "a mad, anarchic triumph of stupidity over style; not to be missed"), whose madcap high-speed medley of songs based around a series of visual props was a joy to behold, and had us rocking in our seats.

This was a great night out, and lived up to its description. We thoroughly enjoyed it (as did fellow Polari-ites Bryanne and Simon). We look forward to more from dear Dexter, now he's out of rehab back in business!

Of course, the last word goes to Mr Clark himself, in this exposé:

Dexter Clark Celebrity Hairdresser - Celebrity Scandals

More about Dexter Clark

A night with Jesus

Madam Arcati and I had a fabulous and rather unexpected night out yesterday, as I had landed some last-minute tickets to see a live Cuban music band in the swanky Matcham Room in the glittering Hippodrome Casino on Leicester Square.

Advertised as a "Celebration of The Buena Vista Social Club", Jesus Cutiño Y Son de Cuba (for it was they) is an ever-revolving line-up of musicians from Cuba, Columbia and Peru - and they were absolutely superb!

As individuals, each of the players would be at the top of their game, from the effervescent female vocalist (and mistress of the guiro and maracas) to the wonderful brass section, the keyboard player and the drummers/percussionists, but together they constructed an authentically complicated and thoroughly captivating sound - with a range of Son, Timba, Salsa Romantica and Afro Cuban rhythms, some composed by frontman Jesus Cutiño, and some classics from the aforementioned Cuban superstars.

Charm personified, Sñr Cutiño took requests, flirted with the (female members of) the audience, and, despite the singular poshness of the venue, got everyone up dancing!

We had a ball! Here's a short video I took last night (excuse the sound - we were up in the gallery):

...and here's Sñr Cutiño's "home video" for Mulata Rumbera:

Jesus Cutiño - Mulata Rumbera

Jesus Cutiño and Son De Cuba

Hippodrome Casino

Careful the tale you tell, that is the spell

"She packs the necessary dynamism, versatility, glamour and acting skills, not to mention Piaf-like moments of sturdy, feet-planted intensity when operating at maximum power." Evening Standard

"Her interpretative powers, her dramatic range and her ability to penetrate to the emotional heart of a number can stand comparison with anyone now performing popular song on either side of the Atlantic." The Telegraph

Madam Arcati and I were very fortunate to land ourselves tickets for a very special evening at a very special venue last night - an intimate cabaret appearance by the wonderful Miss Maria Friedman in the brand new Matcham Room at London's opulent Hippodrome (recently converted into a casino) in Leicester Square.



The venue is truly beautiful - carefully converted from the upper tier of the original theatre, balcony sensitively preserved - and a fine performance space; one Miss Friedman was evidently overjoyed to be playing. Indeed, she compared it to New York's premier cabaret venue, the iconic Café Carlyle. She told a tale of her early appearance at said venue, with its then rudimentary lighting system that left her on stage illuminated only across her waist, and none other than fellow Sondheimite the legendary Barbara Cook operating the sound ("a box with one switch - on and off", she said)!

In an hour-and-a-half-long show, Maria proved exactly why she is such a respected stalwart of the West End, paying tribute to her beloved Sondheim (and Bernstein) as well as some more homespun entries in the "Great British Songbook".

Among her brilliant repertoire, she sang Sondheim's Another Hundred People and the beautiful Being Alive from Company, the poignant Children Will Listen from Into the Woods, and Send In The Clowns from A Little Night Music, as well as Bernstein's A Little Bit In Love; all beautifully done.

Maria Friedman - Children Will Listen

She charmed the audience with her hilarious rendition of (Not) Getting Married Today - this being only the second show in her week-long run, Miss Friedman admitted she had to stop the number three times the previous night after tripping over cables on the stage. Happily, there were no such mishaps last night.

Her wonderfully engaging sense of humour shone through the whole evening - even draping herself across members of the audience during 100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man from Wonderful Town, and after her favourite show-stopper, the powerfully emotional Somewhere from West Side Story her encore was a hilarious rendition of that show's Gee, Officer Krupke, complete with changes of headgear to portray the characters of the judge, the accused, the psychiatrist and the officer himself!

A superb evening, and afterwards we took the opportunity to explore the various nooks and crannies of the casino, including the smoking area on the roof-terrace with its picturesque views of the original statues that adorn this magnificent building.



A wonderful night indeed!

This autumn, Maria Friedman will be making her directorial debut with Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along at one of our favourite theatres, the Menier Chocolate Factory (16th November 2012 to 23rd February 2013).

Maria Friedman website