Spiegelworld’s show ‘Absinthe’ is a rollicking mixture of pure vaudeville. Straight from Las Vegas (where it’s been performing at Caesar’s Palace for four years) the show combines feats of athleticism with singing, circus with comedy. You never know what you’ll be amazed with next.
The host and MC of the evening is an over-the-top character called The Gazillionaire. He takes the piss out of everyone, acrobats and audience members alike. The jokes are broad, they’re crude, and they even boarded on racist at times. My +1 enjoyed how over the line was, but the American in me shuddered at how non-PC it became. So just a note: if you’re in the front row, be sure to have thick skin.
photo courtesy Mark Turner
The setting is phenomenal. It’s a Spiegeltent on top of Crown Casino’s rooftop, for goodness’ sake. How often can you experience that? The one-hundred-year-old tent is all wood and mirrors, velvet and ropes. The intimate nature of the venue comes to the fore when you realise that if some of the acts made the slightest mistake, they could come crashing down on the audience.
Of course they won’t, because these are some of the best performers in the world. The Plus Ones loves circus, and having been to Cirque du Soleil, NICA, and Circus Oz, I can say that the performances are world class. My favourites were the aforementioned chair man, Sacha Volohdin of Ukraine, whose simple act (balancing chairs on top of one another) opened the show and set the tone for the rest of the night. Almost reaching the top of the tent, I barely breathed until he was safely down. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the amazing burlesque ‘Balloon Strip’ from Swede Angie Sylvia, which has to be seen to be believed. Everything was on par, so it’s hard to single any particular act out — but the finishing trio on the high wire, The Brat Pack, was phenomenal.
photo courtesy Mark Turner
The show is pure vaudeville, with the broad humour reminiscent of how it must have felt in Berlin in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s. (Just me?) Comedy, burlesque, and circus — it’s a helluva night out. The only thing that would’ve been better is if we all got to drink Absinthe cocktails throughout.
– Theresa
Spiegelworld ‘Absinthe’ is at the Crown Rooftop until 26 April.
Buy tickets now.
