2015 Hayes Theatre Co cabaret season announced

Cabaret season is just around the corner and in Sydney that means the Hayes. Now in its second year, the Hayes Theatre Co Cabaret season will bring cabaret acts, masterclasses, talks and more to the beloved Potts Point space.

“Hayes Theatre Co is bringing a Cabaret Season that is bigger and bolder with the diversity and captivating performances that audiences have come to expect from us,” said Victoria Wildie, General Manager of Hayes Theatre Co.

With the Hayes now offering 3 and 5 show ticket packages to make the season more affordable, why not get caught up in cabaret fever? Check out our list below of the season events, and consider getting along to a few of these shows.

rob mills headshot
Rob Mills

Interested in the industry events – talks and masterclasses – that are part of the Hayes Cabaret season? Read about them here!

Phil Scott as Lionel Bart in REVIEWING THE SITUATION 
Dates & Times: Wednesday 3 June at 2pm, Thursday 4 June & Friday 5 June at 8.30pm and Saturday 6 June at 2pm. Written & Produced by Terence O’Connell and Phil Scott. Directed by Terence O’Connell

Once he was Britain’s most celebrated composer who created the iconic musical Oliver! and lived in a 27 room ‘Fun Palace’ where his party guests included Noel Coward, Rudolf Nureyev and The Beatles. Now he’s bankrupt and ensconced in a flat above a laundromat.

At his piano and fuelled by more than a few vodkas, Lionel Bart is REVIEWING THE SITUATION as he sings us the songs (including Living Doll, From Russia With Love, You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two and As Long As He Needs Me) and shares stories from his incredible life.

Children and Art: Starring Tyran Parke
Directed by Tyran Parke. Musical Direction By Luke Byrne. Dates & Times: Wednesday 3 June at 8.30pm & Thursday 4 June at 6.30pm

Children and Art is the latest one-man cabaret from acclaimed, award winning singer, actor and director, Tyran Parke. A humorous and touching evening that was developed for the Art Gallery of NSW, the show explores these two themes and the desire to leave a legacy, through the music of classic and popular writers including, Peter Allen, Don McLean and Broadway heavyweights Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Lippa.

Marina Prior. Image by Graham Jepson
Marina Prior. Image by Graham Jepson

A Prior Engagement: An Intimate Evening with Marina Prior
Musical Direction by David Cameron. Dates & Times: Saturday 6 June & Sunday 7 June at 8.30pm

Join Marina Prior for an intimate performance as she presents songs from her early busking days to classics that have established her as a true leading lady of musical theatre. Accompanied by David Cameron on piano.

MDMA: Modern Day Maiden Aunt, starring Geraldine Quinn
Written by Geraldine Quinn. Directed by Justin Hamilton. Musical Direction by Geraldine Quinn (with Steve Hearne). Dates & Times: Tuesday 16 June & Wednesday 17 June at 6.30pm

The great novelist Jane Austen did not have any children but had 23 nieces and nephews. Award winning Cabaret artist Geraldine Quinn (Spicks & Specks, Adam Hills Tonight) does have any children of her own but 19 nieces and nephews. She draws cock’n’balls, writes songs about Bowie – and has wiped many bottoms. MDMA: Modern Day Maiden Aunt is a hilarious original cabaret exploring Geraldine’s place as the only unmarried/child-free sibling in a family of seven.

Dedications, starring John O’Hara
Directed by Anthony Harkin. Musical Direction by Luke Hunter. Choreography by Melanie Hawkins. Written by John O’Hara and Anthony Harkin. Dates & Times: Tuesday 9 June & Wednesday 10 June at 6.30pm

DEDICATIONS is a show about people, relationships, the day to day of domestic life and getting through. It’s also about choices and memory, but most of all it’s about connection – how we do it and why. Starring John O’Hara, the audience experiences pain and hope through various characters as they call in to request a song and share their stories of heartache and tales of triumph from a nation in and out of love. And as the familiar strains of Celine or Lionel or Whitney transport us back in time we know that the Love God is here to help.

Little Diana and the Big Fuzz, starring Bree Langridge
Written by Bree Langridge & Darren Yap. Musial Direction by Andrew Worboys. Directed by Darren Yap. Dates & Times: Tuesday 9 June & Wednesday 10 June at 8pm.

Set in 2015, Little Diana, starring Bree Langridge follows the story of a young woman and her rise in the music industry, whist drawing parallels to historic times and events of the motown era. Little Diana is inspired by the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown and the legends of the time including Tina Turner, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Bop along to songs including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Chain Reaction Love Hangover, and more.

The Parting Glass – An Irish Journey, starring Damien Leith
Dates & Times: Thursday 11 June & Friday 12 June at 8.30 pm & Sunday 13 June at 2.00pm and 8.30 pm.

Damien Leith will perform his one-man show, The Parting Glass – An Irish Journey, filled with humour, emotion and great Irish music. The show which incorporates both a play and a musical concert of classic Irish songs is set in an Irish pub and see’s Damien take on the character roles of both a father and a son who are catching up on lost time over a few drinks. It’s both humorous and emotional and audiences will be transported to Ireland.

Luigi Lucente
Luigi Lucente.

Jim Morrison: Kaleidoscope, starring Luigi Lucente
Written & Performed by Luigi Lucente. Musical Arrangements by Luigi Lucente. Direction & Dramaturgy by Nicholas Christo. Dates & Times: Friday 12 June at 6.30pm & Saturday 13 June at 8pm.

Cast aside your pre-conceptions. Look through the electric haze. Prepare to be taken on a fascinating journey through the curious mind of one of rock & roll’s most mysterious poets. An exploratory one-man cabaret, Kaleidoscope delves beyond the wild and untamed frontman exterior to reveal the timeless genius of Jim Morrison: poet, prophet, showman & shaman.

Hair to the Throne, starring Marney McQueen
Written by Marney McQueen & Tim Bain. Musical Direction by Mark Jones. Dates & Times: Saturday 13 June & Sunday 21 June at 6.30pm

Hunnies! Marney McQueen is back in her role as The Princess of Plucking & Preening, fresh from performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with comedy cabaret exposé, Hair To The Throne. Treat yourself to an unmissable full body experience as celebrity bikini waxer Rosa Waxoffski and her assistant Boris Longschlongadonski (Mark Jones) takes you on a prickly journey from her childhood, spills the dirt from her star-studded appointment book and showcases her hilarious campaign to represent Australia in Eurovision 2015.

Killing Time, starring Mitchell Butel
Written & Directed by Mitchell Butel. Musical Direction by Daryl Wallis. Dates & Times: Sunday 14 June at 6.30pm & Tuesday 16 June at 8.30pm.

Mitchell Butel’s sell-out hit show Killing Time returns. A thousand dreams, a handful of loves, too many martinis and 24 hours packed into 70 minutes of song. Tales of time from the jazz and blues songbooks starring Mitchell Butel.

Bobby Fox
Bobby Fox. Image by Blueprint Studios

Kurt, starring Justin Burford
Dates & Times: Thursday 18 June & Friday 19 June at 6.30pm

Kurt Cobain defined a generation. Through his band Nirvana, his vision and ingenuity reshaped the music industry on the world stage. But behind that legend there is a man. This is his story. In KURT, Burford, whose own voice has been described as honey with a touch of gravel by The Age, will weave story and song to celebrate Kurt Cobain’s short and influential existence.

Painted from Memory, starring Michael Falzon and Bobby Fox
Dates & Times: Thursday 18 June, Friday 19 June & Saturday 20 June at 8.30pm

After the premier performance of Painted From Memory in 2014, Michael Falzon and Bobby Fox come together again for an intimate incarnation of this much-lauded concert event. Accompanied by piano and string section, Painted From Memory explores the emotionally rich and melodic themes of the celebrated album by Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello.

RECEPTION: THE MUSICAL, starring Bethany Simons
Music & Lyrics by Bethany Simons and Peter de Jager. Book by Bethany Simons. Musial Direction by Peter de Jager. Dates & Times: Tuesday 23 June & Wednesday 24 June at 6.30pm

A celebration of administration inspired by true stories from behind the front desk, Reception: The Musical is a cabaret comedy about a receptionist who finds joy in the manic world of customer service, stationery orders, and thinking on her swivel chair.

Rob Mills is “Surprisingly Good”
Written by Rob Mills and Natalie Garonzi. Musical Direction by Andrew Worboys. Directed by Tyran Parke. Dates & Times: Tuesday 23 June & Wednesday 24 June at 8.30pm.

After 12 years of singing other peoples songs and saying other people’s scripts, Australian Idol alumni and musical theatre personality Rob ‘Millsy’ Mills is biting the bullet and performing his own one man show, Rob Mills is “Surprisingly Good”. Directed by fellow Cabaret season performer Tyran Parke, this is a play on how nearly every review of everything Mills has done since Idol has been a backhanded compliment along the lines of ‘Can you believe Millsy was surprisingly good!?’ As if it’s assumed he wasn’t going to be. A fun, irreverent look at the experiences that have shaped Rob Mills’ life and career so far, featuring great tunes.

Up Close and Reasonably Personal, starring Amanda Harrison
Musical Direction by Bev Kennedy. Written by James Millar. Dates & Times: Thursday 25 June at 8.30pm, Friday 26 June at 6.30pm, Saturday 27 June at 2pm and Sunday 28 June at 6.30pm.

Up Close and Reasonably Personal with Amanda Harrison is a candid evening of song and conversation with one of Australia’s most prolific musical theatre stars. With a hand-picked repertoire from the woman herself, and a fair dose of humorous self-reflection about wrestling the glamour of stage life with the realities of day-to-day domesticity, Up Close and Reasonably Personal is an intimate, colourful and rare insight into the life of a wife/mother/diva

Amanda Harrison - Up Close and Reasonably Personal
Amanda Harrison – Up Close and Reasonably Personal

Asian Provocateur, starring Josie Lane
Written by Josie Lane. Musical Direction by Mathew Frank. Dates & Times: Friday 26 June & Saturday 27 June at 8.30pm.

Following sell-out seasons around Australia of her acclaimed one woman show Josie in the Bathhouse, sassy songstress Josie Lane, (Miracle City, Priscilla Queen of the Desert), will perform in a brand new show, Asian Provocateur, taking audiences on a trip through the Orient. Indulge in her tales of growing up with a fierce but fabulous Filipino mother, her recent travels throughout Asia and her career of being victim to inevitable (and hilarious) type casting as she belts out the most iconic musical theatre classics of the Asian persuasion.

The Songs of Ahrens & Flaherty
Starring Kathleen Amarant, Lucinda Barratt, Tim Carney, Andrew Hondromatidis, Joe Kosky and Catherine Langley. Directed by Matthew Lockitt. Musical Direction by Stacey-Louise Camilleri. Dates & Times: Saturday 27 June at 6.30pm & Sunday 28 June at 2pm.

The Songs of Ahrens & Flaherty showcases the talents of the writing duo behind such celebrated productions as Ragtime, A Man of No Importance, Rocky and Anastasia. The Songs of Ahrens & Flaherty will also feature a song from their brand new show Little Dancer. This show is the first time the song has been performed outside of the recent professional workshop season at the Kennedy Centre in the United States and only the second time the song has ever been performed worldwide.

For more information about the Hayes Cabaret Season 2015, or to book tickets, visit the Hayes Theatre Co website.

Cassie Tongue

Cassie is a theatre critic and arts writer in Sydney, and was the deputy editor of AussieTheatre. She has written for The Guardian, Time Out Sydney, Daily Review, and BroadwayWorld Australia. She is a voter for the Sydney Theatre Awards.

Cassie Tongue

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *