Man in the mirror: Reuben Kaye is appearing at the International Stockholm Burlesque Festival alongside Sydni Devereaux.
Producer and compere Reuben Kaye is one of the brightest spots on the London circuit (not least because of his acclaimed new show Cabaret des Distractions) but he has many admirers outside the capital. Last week saw him in Berlin but now he is off to the land of Abba, opera and Ikea for the Stockholm International Burlesque Festival. For This Is Cabaret, he has kindly (and exclusively) offered to share his thoughts with us. Feel free to catch up on Part One, Part Two and Part Three before getting stuck into the latest adventures.
Part Four
Ouch! Everything aches! The show last night was utterly incredible! A mammoth 25 act show that started at 9 and ended somewhere in the am with a sell-out crowd showing no signs of lagging. Each act was eye-poppingly good. Even the heckler was good! But hey, you mess with Reuben Kaye, you’re gonna get put in cabaret Time Out. (At least someone’s in Cabaret Time Out nowadays!) I’ll just mention a few acts that really caught my attention. Oskar and Sade from Finland took the stage with a beautiful, sorrowful and hilariously joyful Cyr wheel routine to Tom Wait’s Late Night Prostitute that was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Mrs Rose from France shows us exactly how silly and sexy the French can be with an electrifyingly funny disenfranchised housewife, and many more acts were pure joy to behold.
But the night belonged to our final four acts! Colette Colerette‘s Pierrot by turns mournful, cheeky and incredibly beautiful is always a favourite of mine. NYC’s Golden Glamazon Sydni Devereaux‘s stunning classic showed us exactly how you work a stage and that burlesque, when done well is really an eye-contact sport! Natsumi Scarlett‘s Madness of Marie Antoinette act is one I’ve seen countless times and each time it just gets better and better.
The audience’s faces of excitement and and fear are only topped by their faces when Tigger takes the stage! Father McTigger blessed us all last night! We confessed and counted our Hail Marys on his freshly produced Rosary beads. Father McTigger is a shady, sexy, menacing representation of repressed sexuality and the celebration of liberation and release! These four acts were what everyone was waiting for and they did not disappoint! And the Södra Theatern is gorgeous.
Then, booze! after the show, Södra’s bars bring out some amazing DJs and it basically becomes a club for really attractive Swedish men to get very drunk. This is my arena. I brought out my butterfly net and bear traps and was about to throw myself into the crowd when Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl thumped through the speakers. I don’t care what your music tastes are, but if you don’t want to dance to this song, you’re dead inside. Natsumi Scarlett, Tronicat la Miez and I took over the dance floor and then…
Oh God, where am I? I’m in bed, the world is trying to kill me with sunlight. I turn over and scream at the hideous lumpen, misshapen face of the woman in my bed. Then realise it’s my pillow and I haven’t taken my make-up off. My own face stares back at me like the shroud of Turin…if the shroud of Turin had lashes and a glitter lip. It’s breakfast time in the hotel. We all gather like the burlesque zombie apocalypse. I’d take a photo of us all but…I think we all know why that didn’t happen. And now we go out in Stockholm! It is a truly beautiful city. I’ve decided I really want a reindeer pelt. Just so I can make children cry at Christmas when they see me wearing Rudolph.
On to tonight’s show. I’ll be hosting the tassel twirling competition, also known as OktBooberFest!, judged by Tiggerbefore the final night of The Stockholm Burlesque Festival 2015! More soon!
You can follow the Stockholm Burlesque Festival on Facebook or their official site.
Reuben Kaye’s Stockholm Burlesque Festival Diary: Part One
Reuben Kaye’s Stockholm Burlesque Festival Diary: Part Two
Reuben Kaye’s Stockholm Burlesque Festival Diary: Part Three
Watch this space for Part Five…
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