That Voodoo

Up until recently, it was impossible to turn a corner without being greeted by the sultry false-eyelashed glamour of a burgeoning burlesque star, or the dapper ways of a cabaret performer as the variety scene exploded back into our theatrical lives. With a relative lull in the activity outside the festival month in Scotland, this year’s Fringe is the perfect place to keep the variety resurgence alive as the Voodoo Rooms, Blond Ambition and O’Connor Ents present an evening filled with glamour and opulence.

There are six performances on the bill from this powerhouse of cabaret production: The Bitch Doctors – a chat-show designed to heal the heart, mind and body; Abi Roberts Takes You Up The Aisle with her story of love, divorce and sex addiction told through tale and song; Voodoo Revue is steeped in the more classical style of variety performance as we are shown snippets of the cabaret performances from all over the Fringe followed by Mat Ricardo – Three Balls and A New Suit as he contemplates juggling, why he does it and what comes next.

Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer ties up the performance side of the evening which his lyrical mastery before Voodoo Rooms opens up to club night White Mink featuring an array of special guests in their Electro Swing Speakeasy.

There could hardly be a better venue for an evening filled with such classic-styling and the setting of the Ballroom – although compact and bijou – suits the acts well. Voodoo Revue segues the audience well into the world of variety: Every evening billed with different performers, it lives to tantalise and leave us wanting more – done so expertly at the hands of compere Des O’Connor. He flips with ease between roles, chairing The Bitch Doctors as the professor of the mind as he, along with his fellow medical ‘professionals’ aim to heal the ailments of their audience through improvised song and tricks. This ability to think off the cuff – or amend pre-existing work to a given scenario – is a credit to the deep rooted skill these performers hold.

Abi Roberts offers a more intimate affair altogether, talking – and singing – us through the loves (and losses) of her life up until her recent marriage, getting dressed into her wedding attire as her tale progresses. Yet with such a conversational tone to her piece, she handles well the spontaneous reactions of the audience as they tend to verge on the over-excited.

But it’s the gentlemen who steal the show. Mat Ricardo is undoubtedly incredibly well-honed at his craft – merging stand-up and the lost art of juggling as he determines what lies in store for the future of a juggler, commenting on the pitfalls of street performance and televised talent shows. Building up to the big finish, the evening of variety peaks with Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer. Bursting with energy, and a mastery of the nuances of the English language, he has created his own genre in ‘Chap-Hop’. He’s an engaging character, and with his DJ and trusted ‘banjolele’ he has the audience warming their dancing shoes – and singing voices – just in time to keep the party going for White Mink. This little corner of Edinburgh’s Fringe is a welcome return to the old stylings of variety.