In this year’s Eurovision, Europe didn’t give the UK much love, but do the Brits still love the EU? Apparently so, at least judging by the cheerful welcome Cabaret Continentale received with the Saturday night late audience at the Brighton Spiegeltent. The sold-out show was a testament to all the weird and wonderful talent Europe has to offer.
A testament to all weird and wonderful talent Europe has to offer.
Cabaret Continentale: We Still Love EU was hosted by Charlie Partridge as Acid Klauss from Stuttgart. Representing hardcore beats from the underground German Haus scene, he blends beatboxing, improvisation, silly voices and vocal looping to create a unique comedic soundscape. By looping simple phrases, Acid Klauss created a real-time musical texture consisting of multiple layers of sound. The surreal, bordering on hallucinogenic sound was reinforced by his weird stories leaving the crowd pleased and bewildered.
The first act of the evening was Circopitanga, representing Switzerland. Their vintage circus act combined physical theatre and clownery with impressive acrobatics. Loïse charged on stage as an animal tamer riding on Oren, whose job was to be the beast and get tied in multiple ways by Loïse. He also had to endure her standing on his bald head, which is one of their trademark moves. Very impressive teamwork. Next up was Brighton-born Cherry Shakewell, one of the finest shimmy-shakers in the circuit, performing as an Austrian little Heidi who had suddenly grown up and discovered tassels. Following her was the Spanish temptress Senorita Rebeca, who spun heads with her juggling skills.
The highlight of the night was the irresistible Madame Galina. Iestyn Edwards’ alter ego, the rough and rugged Russian Prima Ballerina has performed for the likes of Madonna, Kate Moss, Jude Law and The Queen. Madame Galina gave three audience members a ballet lesson of a lifetime, leaving the crowd roaring with laughter as the extras were trying to keep up with Madame Galina’s instructions. The ‘lucky’ principle dancer even got to perform on Madame Galina the kiss of life. With a dirty mind and a foul mouth, everyone from Putin got their share of indecent puns.
The last acts of the evening were Julia Masli, an Estonian born clown with an absurdist touch. Having a mannequin leg for an arm with a microphone, she attempted to solve audience members’ problems – with money or drugs if nothing else worked. Closing the night was the Finnish sideshow siren Missy Macabre, allegedly straight from Paris. She introduced an alternative way of portrait painting by holding the brush inside her nostril. After years of Covid-19 rapid antigen tests we can all relate to how that feels.
The cabaret had an appealing theme of still loving the EU, which unfortunately wasn’t developed to its full potential. With a bit more effort, the show could have been more than just showcasing European talent and being teasers of the acts’ full performances at the fringe. But tonight, it seemed that you can get the UK out of Europe, but you can’t get Europe out of the UK – at least not here in Brighton.
