The Brag

La Soirée
Lovers of La Clique- and those cursing themselves for missing it- will find the same heady mix of the bizarre, beautful and unbelievable in Sydney Opera House’s summer variety show, La Soirée.
By Dee Jefferson

The brainchild of La Clique co-creator Brett Haylock, La Soirée features many of that show’s favourites, plus a few new ones and a dash of local flavour, in the same mix of circus, sideshow, neo-burlesque and cabaret that has been taking the world by storm since Haylock & Co. debuted at Edinburgh Fringe in August 2004. In fact the only thing that’s really changed (apart from the name) is the venue: instead of the Famous Spiegeltent, Haylock and his troupe are now tearing up main stages – currently, London’s Roundhouse.

A promoter-turned-creative-producer who is originally from Melbourne, via Adelaide, Haylock has spent around 11 months of every year since August 2004 on the road, with one permutation of ‘the show’ or another. It’s a rigorous schedule of eight performances per week, but he says the momentum doesn’t show any signs of diminishing, and the rewards are addictive. Still, he never set out to create the world’s most popular cabaret show; it just kind of happened one year at the Fringe: “It was a tiny little cabaret show created for very late at night, at Edinburgh – no-one could have anticipated the rollercoaster ride it’s taken us on,” he laughs.

Even from its first night (which was the first time the show was ever performed – no ‘dry run’) it was getting rave reviews. “The show spent a few years being developed,” Haylock admits. “It evolved out of the club that we ran, Club Spiegel – the international ‘festival club’. So we’d seen a number of these artists come through the club, and the show evolved out of that.”

Even though journalists have tried to quantify and qualify the ingredients that differentiate La Soirée and La Clique from their peers – the balance of male and female flesh is one point of interest – the truth is that it happened very organically. “We didn’t have any preconceived ideas of, ‘Oh, this is how you have to present cabaret or circus’, you know… I guess we, um, just kind of made it up on the spot! It’s just a big two-hour celebration of what the human body can achieve. We’ve never wanted or needed to force a narrative on it, or some hidden agenda – I mean, it’s just a two-hour party! All these people have these extraordinary skills, and they’re celebrating that on stage.”

Over the years, the lineup has shifted only by degrees, rotating core favourites with new discoveries; what all the acts have in common is a ‘magical connection’ with their audience. Each performer knows how to work every inch of their 2.5m by 2.5m stage. “In this world of fabricated celebrity, it’s really refreshing to see people up on stage who have spent five, ten, 15 years of their life creating eight minutes of pure magic,” says Haylock. “All the artists have that old-fashioned showmanship.”

Even within each season, the lineup from night-to-night is fluid. “Wherever we go we invite local artists to guest with us,” says Haylock, “often for the late-night shows, [which] have a looser feel to them; we refer to them as ‘pants-down’ late shows – they can be pretty wild.”

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LA SOIRÉE

DAVID O’MER
Aka Bath Boy. The bath-time antics of this Berlin-based aerial acrobat have been one of the jewels in La Clique’s crown for many years – in fact, ever since it debuted in 2004 at Edinburgh Fringe.

CAPTAIN FRODO
Aka the Incredible Rubberman. This Norwegian contortionist also holds Guinness World Records for sword swallowing. Most importantly, he can fit his entire body through the head of a tennis racquet.

THE ENGLISH GENTS
Aka Aussies Hamish McCann and Denis Lock. Imagine Tim Brooke-Taylor from The Goodies doing gymnastics, and you’ve kind-of got the picture. These guys must be crazy strong, because what they can do with just one arm is breathtaking. Besides their perfected two-handed routine as the Gents, they’re each bringing new solo acts – including Hamish’s one-man ‘pole-dance’ routine, inspired by Singin’ in the Rain.

URSULA MARTINEZ
This British comedienne became famous after her playful striptease act for La Clique, ‘Hanky Panky’, unexpectedly went viral (subsequently informing the subject of her first solo show, My Stories, Your Emails, which played Sydney Opera House last November). Ursula has also been with the show since the very beginning.

LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT
This British-Nigerian baritone, whose costumes are almost as fabulous as his Prince and Pet Shop Boys routines, will be making his Sydney debut with La Soirée (although he actually broke through at Adelaide Fringe in 2008). “Obviously he’s got this incredible, operatic voice – it can fill any room,” says La Soirée director Brett Haylock, “but his character is what makes him special; he’s really really endearing and loveable; he’s soft and cuddly – Sydney will adore him.”

What: La Soirée
When: January 6 – February 12
Where: Studio, Sydney Opera House
More: sydneyoperahouse.com/lasoiree