Absolutely Gorgeous

Feature, By Christian Taylor, 5th September, 2008

The Famous Spiegeltent has been entertaining audiences the world over for decades. It’s always the jewel in the crown during Sydney Festival. This spring it moves to the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. The season is called Gorgeous! – a pretty fitting name really.

Gorgeous! is a festival of music, comedy and cabaret running from 17 October to 15 November. The season is jam packed, and there are a few standout shows that we know will tickle your fancy.

The line up includes some of the best of Australia’s musical talent. On Tuesday November 4 Jimmy Barnes will be appearing with his daughter Mahalia and son David Campbell. Vanessa Amorosi will be performing a stripped back acoustic set on Thursday November 13 – it’ll just be her, a piano, a guitar and you.

Brisbane based songbird Kate Miller-Heidke will light up the Spiegeltent stage with her charming, genre-challenging songs on Thursday 24 October. Abby Dobson, of Leonardo’s Bride fame, will appear on the afternoon of Saturday 26 October, performing tracks from her new album, accompanied by her fellow musicians on strings.

ARIA Award nominated singer songwriter Holly Throsby will perform on Tuesday November 11 with a couple of her fellow bandmates – between the three of them they play eleven different instruments, so expect to have your socks rocked.

The Burlesque Hour is back – they’ve been touring the world since they were last here in 2004. They got 10 standing ovations in Italy, they got five stars in Edinburgh. How will Sydney show their appreciation we wonder?

Kenny Mellman – one piano playing half of Kiki & Herb – will be bringing his Grace Jones tribute I’ve Got a Bulletproof Heart to Sydney.

And if you haven’t heard of Lea DeLaria, then don’t worry – you soon will Her show is called Naked and it’s “An Acoustic Look at the Life of a Big Hairy Dyke” apparently. We like it so far. She combines in-your-face stand-up, queer ethics, back-stage stories and music from her soon-to-be-released album The Live Smoke Sessions. We can’t wait to meet her!

A round of applause has to go to the Sydney Opera House team for organising this. In reality this is essentially the acts that were programmed for The Studio, but they’ve had to move them because the venue is being renovated. It’s brilliant that they’ve managed to turn an inconvenience into something truly special.

“This is an exciting opportunity to give the people of Sydney the ultimate Famous Spiegeltent experience, where The Studio’s programming meets one of the most beautiful performance venues in the world, all set on the world’s most stunning harbour,” said Sydney Opera House Chief Executive Richard Evans.

“Lovers of The Studio will see some familiar names but we also hope to attract an entirely new audience with an intoxicating carnival of characters across the 25 day program.”

The Famous Spiegeltent Gorgeous! runs from Tuesday to Sunday from 17 October to 15 November. Show times vary. Every ticket is below $50! Bargain! Tickets are currently on sale through the Sydney Opera House box office.

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