Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Carmen Arquelladas, Duncan Cameron, Leebo Luby, Miwa Nagai, Simone Tani.
The glitz and the glamour of the cabaret night, the well rehearsed, the dancing troop, the possibility of magic on stage ever hanging in the air like the illusion of petals on string or the blown glitter to distract you from the sleight of hand; all these moments make the eager performance of the cabaret a wonderful night out.
In the dark though, in the furthest recess of the mind is a different kind of night, one filled with the psychological as well as the deeply funny, one in which Cabaret From the Shadows reigns supreme and gives permission to the audience to think inwardly as they laugh at the darkness.
The five strong performing team of Teatro Pomodoro, Carmen Arquelladas, Duncan Cameron, Leebo Luby, Miwa Nagai and Simone Tani seize the time on stage with a little unnerving, of the wonderful grotesque masque and the honour of their craft overflowing with sincerity and the upside down face of the glamour that one would normally associate with the word Cabaret. The hour the five are on stage is perhaps more of a homage to 1920’s Berlin than to the soft shoe and tight clothes sparkling away on a television that people might believe passes for entertainment in some respects; it is a nod to that period in time which makes the whole evening such a spectacular vision.
The psychological experiment is always one in which you gauge just how far you can push an audience before they rebel, always with good humour, always with an eye for the moment when the release valve needs to be unhooked, when the steam needs to be glorified and allowed to seep between the audience’s legs and pull them under. Not knowing how you will react to a man making clucking noises in time to a gentle guitar, whether it is alright to throw soft balls at someone in religious dress, whether the sight of bum or breast implants going through a mincing machine is in good taste or just something to expect as rebellion in the modern age; this is what Cabaret From the Shadows does skilfully and with beautiful conviction.
A fantastic hour of entertainment devised by Teatro Pomodoro, a night in the shadows is always good for the soul.
Ian D. Hall