Rouge in the Spiegeltent
Image: ROUGE. Photo: Alison Catseye Productions
Sydney sits perfectly in a Bermuda triangle of cabaret and circus along with Adelaide and Melbourne, and there is no better season for a sighting than from now until the end of the summer holidays.
Declared the Best Circus at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe and after a triumphant run at Edinburg Fringe Festival, Highwire Entertainment’s production of Rouge is set to put some sizzle into Sydney’s Spiegeltent in the run-up to Christmas.
With the press release declaring “an adults-only sultry spectacle of new age circus and cabaret” Rouge has a lot to deliver to meet expectations and after speaking with Highwire founder and Rouge director Elena Kirschbaum, she leaves no doubt that it will.
“Rouge is a circus cabaret show in which we are taking those elements of danger and wonderment and spectacle that comes with circus,” Kirschbaum said. “We are taking it on an emotional journey while blending the music with the story telling and adding circus into the mix.
Rouge is so visceral and real and right in front of you.”
Kirschbaum adds that the element of danger is also a huge part of the attraction to cabaret and circus.
“When you are performing, one of the things people want is a sense of danger, a group of people doing something with their bodies that other people can’t do,” Kirschbaum said.
Asked why Australia has such a deep love of cabaret and circus Kirschbaum said:
“Cabaret is a really accessible art form. When people think of theatre and live performance, they think about something that comes with a whole etiquette and rules that you need to know, and (cabaret) is about stripping away some of the barriers that come with the traditional performing arts.”
Rouge features six artists performing across a wide set of disciplines that will call on all of their training and expertise, and then some.
“Rouge is a very special show; it has a small cast who are constantly on stage, and if they are not, they are getting changed,” Kirscbaum said.
“They are moving the whole time, delivering short, sharp acts at a very fast pace. We can deliver something that is very unreal.”
Australia is very fortunate that the arts of circus and cabaret have not only survived, but flourished despite the closure of Circus Oz, which not only toured circus, but was also a major trainer and incubator of its many associated art forms.
“Our performers come from a range of backgrounds, some have studied at the Institute of Circus Arts, and we all have performers who have trained in other spaces such as acting and singing,” Kirschbaum said.
“All of our artists are coming from really highly trained spaces that are quite broad.”
Besides the multiple roles played by the six performers, there is an inanimate performer in Rouge, and that is the Sydney Spiegeltent.
“What is really wonderful is that the Spiegeltent itself is a different world,” Kirschbaum said.
“Putting a show into the context of a venue that is steeped in character and history; the tent itself is a whole character.”
“The tents were created as mobile venues back in the early 1900s, as a meeting and performance space, and unlike a traditional theatre which is a black box, they are setting a scene to transport people to a different world.”
If you are looking for something more that’s a little naughty but always dazzling, this summer head along to Rouge in the Sydney Spiegeltent located in the Entertainment Quarter.
November 23 – December 17
Sydney Spiegeltent, The Entertainment Quarter, 122 Lang Road, Moore Park
