To enjoy the full experience of Carte Blanche, it’s wise to arrive early. You’ll find an interesting midweek crowd - glad to be out at last and looking for a good time. People are dressed up and there’s a nice buzz; waiters glide between the sofas - trays of cocktails held aloft. You feel special, like you’ve stepped onto the set of a film - the scene set in a club where a glamorous party is in full swing.
Ashley Stroud‘s singing is worth the ticket price alone.
You order another glass of champagne, feel the bass from the sound system and feast your eyes on clips from classic dance films on the video walls that surround you. It’s quite a cinematic experience and the anticipation for what lies ahead is palpable.
When the cabaret begins, the all-female cast arrives on stage and dominates the room! They are a diverse and talented bunch, each offering something different: fire eating, pole-dancing, singing, solo routines, group routines; drawing on and combining a range of stylistic and musical genres - hip-hop, pop, R&B, music hall, burlesque, Busby Berkeley. They’re all here!
Ashley Stroud‘s singing is worth the ticket price alone.
Stealing the show is chaplinesque performer Cleopantha, taking us on a whistlestop tour of female rap artists through the ages. It’s a joyful and cheeky routine, in which she beautifully draws in the audience with comic timing and charisma.
The only downside was that the evening had to end! And it did end - rather abruptly - it is a school night after all, but it feels like the prelude to a big night out. You just want to order another drink and start dancing, but the lights come up and it’s time to go home. Let’s hope it gets moved to the weekend!
Overall it’s a great show - a night of talent and charm - sexy but not vulgar. Go with a group if you can.
