It's the '80s, and it's fabulous.
In '80's Ladies' presented by The Cast Entertainment, get set to take a time machine back to the era of scrunchies, big hair and leg warmers. Producer/Director/Performer Chloe Castledine returns to Adelaide Fringe with her team of musicians and dancers to bring the '80s bangers to life.
It'll be a lavish celebration featuring tracks by the likes of Whitney, Madonna, Kylie, Dolly, Cyndi. . . You’ll leave this show completely obsessed with these pop stars all over again.
While the tracks in the show are total slammers, they also hold some weight for Chloe, who looked the female powerhouses of the '80s for escapism and fun during her darker high school days of bullying: “I would learn some of these songs during lunch, and pretend I was Whitney Houston or Kylie Minogue, where no one could tease me and I wouldn’t get in trouble.”
Ahead of the neon explosion of '80's Ladies' at Adelaide Fringe, we speak to Chloe about all things '80s and what audiences can expect in the show.
Give us the elevator pitch for ’80's Ladies’.
'80's Ladies' is a fun, bold celebration of some of the biggest songs of the 1980s by the most fabulous female pop stars of that era. The show comes with lots of colour, electricity, nostalgia, and with the full Cast band and eight dancers. . . It's going to submerge you in a full soundtrack experience to raise all the goosebumps.
And tell us a little bit about The Cast.
The Cast are most notably a corporate and large-scale events band, based in Adelaide but travel nationally, which is led by myself on lead vocals. I have a huge team of top-notch musicians, and they just seem to make anything sound amazing. We're most known for delivering vibrant, energetic shows with our massive all-live sound and personal interaction with the crowd. I'm the creator of The Cast but double up as Creative Producer/Director, so we also curate and perform a lot of floorshows and performance pieces for corporate events. Most notable role is Director, Producer and Writer for one of Adelaide's biggest live Christmas events, 'Civic Park Carols' hosted by The City of Tree Gully, partnered with Channel Nine. And naturally, The Cast team is part of the production. I've also produced other Fringe shows: 'Wonderfull! A Celebration of Stevie Wonder', 'So Fresh: Hits Of The 2000’s' as well as '80’s Ladies'.
This show has played Adelaide Fringe before. What was the highlight of this show at last year’s festival?
The highlight was the audience! Walking out and seeing a packed venue, which was heaving with energy. It was the first time we'd ever done the show, so it was just a HUGE unexpected surprise to get such a reception. Every time the band moved into a new song, the screams from the crowd just gave me goosebumps. And they sang along to every single song with me at the top of their lungs. Every single night.
Why do you think Adelaide Fringe is the perfect place for ’80’s Ladies’.
Adelaide is very geared up to party and go out during the Adelaide Fringe season. People save up all year round for it, organise their life celebrations around it, plan long awaited nights out – and there's a huge buzz in February/March. Adelaide is very much alive and wanting to soak in as much fun and entertainment as possible. And what's great, is people come to their shows already expectant, adamant to have a good time. So I've created two shows which feed that expectancy. . . Both are super fun and entertaining and all about having a good time.
What’s one thing you ABSOLUTELY want to bring to the 2024 festival, that was part of the 2023 show?
Our roller skater!
Give us one ‘80s fashion trend you’d love to see make a comeback.
Shoulder pads. They have made a bit of a return in fashion. . . But they need to stay and get bigger. I love them so much.
Why do you think the ‘80s in particular works so well in a show like this?
It reaches all demographics. '80s style and pop culture has made a comeback in kids/teens movies and TV shows, and being such a bright and crazy era of fashion and technology, it's sparked interest with the younger generation. My ten-year-old daughter tells me all the time she wishes she was born in the '80s. The 1980s is still vivid enough for the 30-50-year-olds who grew up in it, and the older generation love it, because they were probably the biggest partiers in the '80s and had the money to do so! So everyone loves it. It was pretty great seeing all the generations up and dancing at the show in 2023. I saw full families together. . . The parents, their kids, with their cousins, and the grandparents all sitting together and screaming out the lyrics.
It’s a celebration particularly of the women of the ‘80s. What’s your favourite thing about that era of music?
I love that women really came into their own during the '80s, and they got quite adventurous. It's like they took over the music industry and got wild and brash. And the music changed quite a bit stylistically. . . Became quite electronic and it was just this new sound that was very exciting.
More particularly. . . What’s your favourite song to perform in the show, and why?
Dolly Parton's '9 To 5; and The Weather Girls' 'Raining Men'. Both so much fun and the crowd go WILD for them. I couldn't even hear myself over their singing, which was so awesome.
'80's Ladies' plays The Moa at Gluttony – Rymill Park (Adelaide Fringe) 12-17 March.
