His hair slicked back, gold glitter on his face; his costume is a tatty tail coat, a corset, bare chest with a pearl necklace, lacy panties and garters holding up his socks – this is Cyril, our MC at the Club Magnifique.
He calls us “gays and theys”, and is out to shock and entertain us.
Connor Baum struts his stuff as Cyril – friendly in a dark sort of way, camp, slightly menacing – he could be in Kander and Ebb’s Kit Kat Club. But he’s not – he’s with us at Brighton Fringe, and he introduces us to his small band of performers, who each has a solo turn and ensemble numbers in this 90-minute perfectly formed piece of fun.
With more than a nod to the musical Cabaret – we get Money Makes The World Go Around – there’s also Gilbert and Sullivan, Nat King Cole via Moulin Rouge and a couple of musical theatre songs that were new to me.
There’s innuendo aplenty – the girls – Zelda, Babette and Goldie are raunchy, and the boys – Cyril, Gaylord and Bert – range from camp to straightish.
The show goes at a frenetic pace and we even get audience participation, forced to do the hand actions and give a twirl and a Charleston step in The Sun Has Got His Hat On.
My favourite pieces were Connor’s stripped back, emotional I Am What I Am – sung from the heart; Nathan Potter as Gaylord with a touching, softly sung Nature Boy; and three stunning ensemble numbers, with fabulous harmonies – Something”s Coming from West Side Story, Something About This Night from Neverland and the equally haunting Will You Bring Me To The Light from Violet.
Emma Edwards is great as Zelda – a woman of a certain age and alcohol consumption who can belt them out with the best. Jodie Harris is a delightfully coquettish chanteuse as Babette, and Hannah Semple is a sexy vamp as Goldie.
Jack Thomson is underused in my opinion but he does tickle our imaginations singing about his “ girlfriend’s pussy” – no, no it’s a cat – honest.
We get tap routines, lots of dancing with suitcases, high kicks, the works – and Magnus Sorensen (keyboards) and William Davis (drums) give us a deceptively big sound.
But it’s Connor who rules supreme – gutsy, gay and proud; it’s a stellar performance in this five-star show.
It’s at the marvellous Wundabarn in Victoria Gardens. Go see it next week or be sorry. Tickets at brightonfringe.org
