Theatre - Yana Alana And The Paranas

Reviews, By Travis de Jonk, 29th January, 2010

Melbourne’s queen of queer cabaret, Yana Alana (Sarah Ward) has raised the performance bar to a world standard in her AMAZING new Midsumma show at Gasworks. If you only see one show this Midsumma, make it this one.

Multi Award winner, Sarah Ward is an incredible talent with a huge following as a result of her work as part of duo SistaShe, and more recently as character creation, Yana Alana. Her shows are witty, sharp, elegant and delightfully subversive. She was already creating work so astounding that it was hard for anyone in the opening night audience of her lastest Midsumma show to even fathom that the bar could be raised much higher… but she did.

Yana Alana And The Paranas Featuring The Igaunas is exquisitely beautiful and sophisticated; From the sets to the ambience, costume to vocals, performance to content and ensemble, every element is beautifully considered.

From the moment you walk into the theatre space, you’re transported elsewhere. Just where it is is hard to say, but it sits somewhere between a 30’s jazz cabaret club, and somewhere in a dreamscape sky. Reservable table seating is on offer, aside from the standard bleacher seating. Also on offer, $2 glow sticks. Trust me and buy one.

With a triumphant announcement, Yana is welcomed onto the stage, and from the moment she appears, you will be putty in her hands, hers for the picking, utterly captivated and unable to blink. Her first haunting notes of Diva that hint at what’s to come… A truly awesome world standard cabaret show, coupled with side splitting dark, intelligent and well written and timed comedy.

Those of you who have seen Yana before might be familiar with some of the material you’ll encounter in the show. Yet one of the biggest strengths of this show is that even the older material is adapted, improved and given a genuinely fresh take. There is also a lot of new material in the show. Most notably is original music which is delivered by Yana and her band, where we actually get to see another side of her as a performer… her mind blowing vocals. They encompass the power and subtleties of the haunting and melancholic music that she sings from the very depths of soul. She channels the great operatic divas, the church singing jazz mamas and the dominatrix bitch goddesses. You will be entranced.

Mr Funny and I’m Not The Woman For You takes human observations about the absurdity of traditional mainstream expectation, inequality and bigotry. Sure there are feminist and queer perspectives in the song, yet it is just so well communicated, entertaining and relatable. Also on the chopping block, the mundane and outdated attitudes of mainstream Australian society. It’s hilariously and intelligently brought down a peg or two in Australian Celebrity.

And then pull out those glowsticks for the pumping dance Gay Anthem 105 that simultaneously celebrates and takes the piss out of our queer handbag songs of pride.

Punctualting all the amazing original songs is a hilarious combination of physical slapstic gags, comedy poetry verse, meet and greet audience interaction and a couple of very special guest spots.

Crowds will cheer along to Yana’s own hit Pussy Wussy Wussy. And finally the show ends with Yana’s own take on a classic torch song, Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away) which is a stunning tear jerker and a wonderful way to conclude a brilliant performance.

The resounding standing ovation from the entire audience in attendance is a first for the Gasworks theatre space and a testament to the sheer brilliance of the show. It was the collective acknowledgement that we had all witnessed something truly extraordinary.

Anni Davey is the show’s director and she has really helped shape a great show into an amazing one, that has ‘truckload of awards’ written all over it. Mark my words. Davey has brought an added sense of the theatrical and the dramatic, and really tightened it and focused it into a beautifully well oiled machine with a lot of humour and soul.

Yana Alana And The Paranas Featuring The Iguanas is truly one of the best shows I’ve experienced at Midsumma in a long time. Don’t miss out on seeing this amazing work.

Yana Alana and the Paranas Featuring The Iguanas is on from the 27th till the 30th January at 8:30pm at Gasworks Arts Park.