Last night, for one night only, Oh! Darling took to the stage of Brighton’s Ironworks delivering traditional circus skills and classic entertainment to a packed out audience.
The show was imagined through the eyes of Pierre, a romantic performer who discovered his passion for circus and cabaret throughout the evening as he met and enjoyed each performance. With so much for him to take in, how could he not fall in love with this art form?
This show was well choreographed with a huge procession of acts taking the stage. The torch singer dominated the space, producing a powerful voice which could tackle both modern and classics, her eyes darting around the audience, catching our gaze, drawing us to her. There were extremely well rehearsed dancers who showed commitment to their moves, a juggler always looking to go one better, a ballerina and her muse who added an air of mystery to the piece and an array of acts who took on well honed circus skills.
The second act took us to Paris, with the music of Edith Piaf filling the space before the Can Can took hold and raised the stakes. We even had an elegant burlesque dancer and acrobatics from the strong man and his very nimble friend, all very daring. The whole night was rounded off by a group number which allowed Tomasso, the mysterious leader of the troop, to perform his own “surprise” routine, which was truly unique.
The impressive cast of diverse characters paraded through the evening, giving the audience a sense of the community and fellowship achieved through the art of cabaret and evoking shows that could have appeared across Europe throughout the last century. They made great use of the space, attempting challenging feats and pulling off an impressive range of entertainment. The highlight for us were the contortions and balance of a performer who took on a spinning wheel which glided them around the space. The piece was also accompanied by an extremely flamboyant live pianist who added drama and pace to the pieces and lifted the whole show.
This was a great evening of variety and cabaret and we hope they will return soon to show us more of what they can do.
Yes, it was a most entertaining evening, such variety and Jennie Castell commanded the space with her powerful vocals. My guest and I thoroughly enjoyed the show! Thank you to Ironworks for hosting it.
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One cannot complain about the individual performers but the whole evening lacked cohesion. It appears it was a vanity project, with each performer having to establish their own reason for being there. The pianist was indeed good but he was overwhelmed by the extravagant backing track that was not conducive to the space. The acrobats did very well to combat the limited height provided by the space and it was a pity that the two acrobats were often limited to perform on the side in the gloom. We love Jennie Castell but overall we were disappointed with the evening.