Audiences all over the world have been popping their corks at the hedonistic and tantalising delights presented by Strut & Fret in 'Blanc De Blanc Encore', where Parisian cabaret never sleeps.
An extension of the original 'Blanc De Blanc' production, 'Encore' spent 2019 winning hearts in Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin, and this year returns with an all-new show and cast.“It's a totally different show,” Strut & Fret Founding Director Scott Maidment states.
“If you've seen 'Blanc' before then you'll know the vibe but you won't know any of the acts and you won't know any of the music. It's a brand-new show, a continuation of the 'Blanc' themes and the Parisian cabaret but it's more like 'Blanc' on acid, it's even more crazy.”
Check your inhibitions at the tent-flap and throw away any hang-ups you may have, because 'Blanc De Blanc Encore' is all about letting go, and Scott says each night offers a different performance experience.
“Because it's live, every show the audience reacts differently and that's part of the skill that the performers have, being able to negotiate and manoeuvre each audience,” he says.
Image © Elise Derwin
“Sometimes an audience will start off a little slow but usually by the end it's a rocking party. That's the aim of what we want to do – we want people to think that they're having a smooth and sophisticated night out and then be raucous and crazy by the end of it.”
The show also features a brand-new cast of world-class performers, including alumni of Cirque du Soleil.
“Remi Martin is the host and the clown,” Scott says.
“I've worked with Remi before and he was one of the winners of 'France's Got Talent' for his amazing pole act, but in this he does a dick-flap beatbox act and the audiences go crazy for that,” he laughs.
“Caitlin [Marion] and Spencer [Craig] who are the duo hoop act, they've just won a heap of prizes in China for their act and they've been central to the show's creation right from the start. In terms of group acts, there's a huge pillow fight about halfway through the show and the tent becomes full of feathers, it's a pretty explosive midway point of the show. You really are taken on a journey.”
Image © Prudence Upton
'Blanc De Blanc Encore' returns to Adelaide Fringe as this year's headliner for the Spiegeltent, a venue that Scott remarks creates the perfect atmosphere for performers and patrons to share an intimate experience.
“One of the things too is that in the Spiegeltent, everyone is up close and personal to the action,” he says.
“Sometimes if you go to Cirque du Soleil, you're 100 metres away from the action because the tent is so big, but in the Spiegeltent the performers are right there next to you and that's super exciting. We often say the show doesn't just happen on stage, it happens in, above and around you; the performers are really up close and personal with the audience.”
