Sour Silk Cabaret, the brainchild of Perth-born but Amsterdam-based performer Young Hoops, makes its FRINGE WORLD debut in 2024 and is a delightful collaboration of both Dutch and local talent.
Hideyoshi Zaydistic is our flamboyant MC for the performance, all pink wig, giant angel wings, and sparkling wit, akin to Mercutio from Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet”. Too much energy for the stage alone, Zaydistic dances, stomps, and sings his way through the entire audience over the course of the hour.
Madeline Antoine evokes the mournfulness of limbo, between heaven and hell, with her electric violin, looping the tracks, then layering them deeper. The piece brought to mind the windswept steppes of Eastern Europe and the longing for a lost past while using a very modern instrument.
Playing the role of lust and seduction today is burlesque artist Autumn Daze, whose outfit blinged to the gods, with a sensual interpretation of “Nothing Else Matters”, via Postmodern Jukebox. Followed by Young Hoops herself performing a very cute hula routine to “Minnie the Moocher”.
Songstress Kim Little is a definite highlight of the entire piece. With her husky vocals, fabulous stage presence, and eclectic song selection, leaning mournful yet glorious, it would be easy to see Little being a headliner in her own right, but she also fits in perfectly here at Sour Silk. When she and violinist Antoine return to the spotlight later in the hour, instrument and voice complement each other wonderfully, the combination nigh on ethereal.
The final of our solo performers, Jo Littlewood-Johnson makes energetic use of a lollipop aerial hoop. So much power, flexibility, dexterity, and then, when it seems the routine is coming to a natural end, the shuddering opening bars of Portishead’s “All Mine” begin, and an already extraordinary act escalates even higher. Utterly fabulous.
FRINGE WORLD is a fantastic opportunity to find artistic expression outside the usual lanes we have here in Perth, and Sour Silk Cabaret is a perfect example of this. A variety show with actual variety, with all performers of a very high quality, with a show run almost blink and you miss it. Simply delightful.