Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett cabaret review: A celebration of connection
The performer’s riotous cabaret combines jaw-dropping variety acts, sexual liberation and a heartfelt plea for human connection
As icebreakers go, climbing on top of the audience and offering your thigh up for anyone who fancies a squeeze is a pretty good one. This is how Bernie Dieter begins Club Kabarett, an evening of x-rated entertainment and joyous revelry centring on the need for human connection in an increasingly disconnected and hostile world.
Our master of ceremonies presides over a menagerie of awe-inspiring acts. Trapeze artist Jarred Dewy performs feats of amazing strength, made all the more impressive for being done in 10-inch platform heels, while the impossibly flexible Soliana Ersie ties her body in boggling knots. The sexiest cabaret in town also boasts a tap-dancing striptease, flaming tits and the most shocking act ever performed on a birthday cake. Dieter herself presents three showstopping numbers, including an anarchic ode to alcohol and a powerfully raw rendition of Martha Wainwright’s ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’.
With her rich voice and coos of ‘my darlings’, Dieter encourages everyone to let their freak flag fly in this Dionysian dedication to carnal pleasure and queer identity. Club Kabarett is one of the most earnest shows out there, challenging audiences to embrace sexuality, to connect with each other through speech, eye-contact and touch. It’s more than just riotous fun, though it certainly is that; it’s a celebration of life.
Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett, Underbelly Circus Hub, until 29 August, 7.20pm.