Overview
Life is a cabaret, old chum — or at least that's what we've been told. Come June, we'll get the chance to find out. Heating up venues in both Prahran and the CBD, the latest edition of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival will welcome more than 100 different performers from around Australia and the world, for two weeks' worth of singing, dancing and outrageous fun.
This year's festival hub will be based out of Chapel Off Chapel, with additional shows at The Space Arts and Dance Centre and Love Machine Nightclub in Prahran, as well as The Butterfly Club in the city. The fun begins on Tuesday, June 14 with an opening night gala featuring some of the biggest acts of the festival, and won't stop until Sunday, June 26, with a closing night billed as "Australia's biggest piano bar party".
In between, punters can check out over 40 different shows. UK performer Joe Stilgoe will pay tribute to Hollywood with a showcase of songs written for and inspired by some of the greatest films of the last century, while Steve Ross — dubbed The Crown Prince of New York Cabaret by The New York Times — will perform a selection of tunes from the 1920s and '30s.
Standout local performers, meanwhile, include Yana Alana, Imogen Spendlove, Geraldine Quinn and Rod Davies, the last of whom you might know as the voice from the Good Guys commercials.
The Melbourne Cabaret Festival runs from June 14-26. For the complete lineup and to secure tickets visit melbournecabaret.com.