Review: Piper’s Playhouse at Crown Casino

Review by Greg Gorton

For over eighty years, the anglosphere has had an obsession with romanticising Montmartre, home of the Moulin Rouge and other nefarious night spots. This is, of course, partly due to the brilliant Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his famous artworks, partly due to those pre-war American “refugees” (Hemingway, Stein, the Fitzgeralds), and partly because the French, unlike the English and Americans, are not prudes.

As a result of this romanticism, it’s not uncommon for productions to want to compare themselves to this ideal. It often leads to disappointment, as the audience instead experiences something closer to the reality than the ideal. It is a great pleasure, then, that those who attend Piper’s Playhouse get to experience something far closer to their romantic imagination than to any semblance of reality.

Upon entering the “playhouse”, you get to experience a clever little “peep show” and glances at the performers, before being led to your table. If inclined, you can choose instead to book elevated standing tables to watch the show from. Then begins a two-hour show filled with a variety of performers, including singers, burlesque dancers, magicians, and even contortionists. During short breaks you have the opportunity to order food, or try the champagne from the show’s “sponsor”, Piper-Hiedsick. If, like me, you feel less like the night is over and more like it has just begun, the post-show room transitions immediately into a piano-bar, where you can stay until the early hours of the morning.

The creation of the space was always going to be critical to the success of an endeavour like Piper’s Playhouse. A real cabaret bar is often small, cramped, odorous, and noisy. This idealised setting offers plenty of breathing room, is just quiet enough for you to chat to the person next to you, and is, for want of a better word, comfortable. Still, with the dim lighting (including personal lamps on your table), some light smoke machine work, and the continuous playing from the house band, there is a n atmosphere of cosy intimacy.

The “house band”, The Jake Amy Trio, plays a range of stylised music, from literal elevator music to some jazz deep cuts that lovers will get excited for. The trio also provided backing music for the gorgeous enthusiastic singing.

While some performances during the night occurred onstage with the band, most took place on a small, rotating stage, offering a close-up and in-the-round experience. Certain acts benefited greatly from this in-your-face setting, while the professional performers took care to ensure all audiences were comfortable.

When it is said that this is a “variety show”, the emphasis is most definitely on the word “variety”. Throughout the night you’ll see fire-eating, contortionism, magic, burlesque, singing, insane balancing tricks, and sword swallowing. Some of these are done at the same time. All of these are amazing. Even more importantly, these are not simply people showing off feats no one else in the room could do, they are truly performing them. Beautiful costumes, creative choreography, and well-honed patter means a night of extreme showmanship. 

Everyone will walk away with a favourite act from the night, and the quality of almost all of them are  impressive. You will likely disagree with your partner on which was the best. For me, it was Becky Bubble, a performer who acts less like a child at a birthday party and more like a master puppeteer working with water instead of string. For most of the audience on the night I attended, though, the most impressive performance came from the final piece by the burlesque superstar, Diesel Darling, which will change the way you think about the art form forever.

As a theatre reviewer, I rarely talk about food or drink, but this cabaret night really was the full experience. For fear of sounding like an advertisement, I should still mention Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. Beside being a very decent mid-priced champagne, I have to praise greatly how this company treated the artistic vision of Velvick Inc with such respect. While there were connections to champagne throughout the night (as you would find in many such shows), there was very little advertising or “product placement” involved. Signage was kept above the bar, and there was no “pushing” of any products.

While this isn’t a dinner-show situation, there are desserts on offer, of which I had to try a few. The cheese and meat platter was decent, and there was caviar for those who enjoy it, but the culinary star of the menu was the Piper Playhouse take on “the shoey”. An Australian classic completely re-imagined as a high heel made entirely of chocolate, filled with cream as well as fresh raspberries and strawberries. It would be a sin to go to this show and not spoil yourself by getting one (which is more than enough dessert for two).

Piper’s Playhouse isn’t the perfect night. One or two acts did not have the same brilliance as the others, and I do have a soft spot for shows that are more inclined to tie themselves together thematically or narratively. Besides one singular moment, I didn’t see a performance that made me say “wow, that took some guts”, and I hesitate to think anyone would call the night controversial in any minor way. It is also an expensive night, that could easily set you back mid three figures when all is said and done. But thinking things over, that is comparable to dinner and two tickets to whatever musical travesty is currently assaulting our fine city. I’ve seen those, and forgotten most of them. This night I will never forget.

If you were a child sitting on a dirty seat watching the touring circus and enjoyed it, but then grew up to develop more adult tastes, then welcome to the sexiest circus in town, where the clowns are titillating, and the glasses are full. It is a night that will empty your wallet, but also the kind of night you will never forget. It is worth every last cent.

Image Supplied