Itsy's Midnight Kabarett

The Real Underground Cabaret

Feature by Mark Harding | 12 Aug 2011

Whenever the Itsy Collective get booking, unpredictable is the name of the game. Running Kabarett at midnight to cap off an evening's Fringing, Edinburgh face Dee Itsy is the host for an eclectic mix of acts, keeping the pace zippy and the edge cutting.

A typical line-up features quick top spots from other Fringe shows. So far there has been comic songsters Jollyboat (providing a rap version of the bible) satire and strip from Honey Wild, Bert Finkle and the Markee de Saw with Kurt Weil songs in German and Edwardian soprano versions of Blondie and Lady Gaga hits, cabaret favourites Leggy P and Charlie and  Amelie Soleil, who loves to take a picnic of razor blades.

The audience is a good mix  – backpacking Fringe fodder, Itsy regulars in 40's fashions and Edinburgers rounding off an evening in the pubs. The mix can be a challenge to unwary performers. No audience for a comedy act minds being called stupid or parasites. But you call a Scottish audience 'middle class' at your peril!

Voodoo Rooms, Speakeasy room, 6 – 27 August, midnight