Ever had one of those moments where you want to be entertained but you just can’t find anything you’re willing to dedicate two hours to?
You look up a few movie trailers on YouTube and then before you know it the trailers have lead to fail compilations ,which lead to cats being cute, then cats being stupid, then cats being cute and stupid. And now you’re on your third video of goats screaming like humans.
Congratulations, you are part of the YouTube generation. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, just of a side effect of the technology-driven society we’re immersed in. Surprisingly, the perfect answer to our short attention spans and desire for instant gratification comes not from technology but from an old and almost dead art-form that has been reawakening, mutating and blossoming over the last decade. I’m talking about vaudeville, variety and, more specifically, La Soirée. In a beautiful melding of the old and new worlds, La Soirée makes variety relevant to a whole new generation. The show is constantly changing, just like YouTube, but instead of being glued to a screen and isolated, you’re connected to the performers and to every other audience member. According to Creative Producer Brett Haylock, “no two shows are the same, you’re not sticking to a script; it bounces off the audience nightly. The spirit of La Soirée is that the audience is the oxygen each night, so you never know which direction it’s going to take.” The really special thing each audience member gets to take away with them is that only you and the people you were in the room with saw that exact show. It was your shared moment and it was completely unique.
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The bar is an integral part of the show. “We hope people have a few drinks and leave their troubles at the door... We’ve done five seasons now in London, with these notorious 10pm shows. They get really rowdy. And they’re great fun. But you never know what’s going to happen. Our job is just to harness the audience and hold on for the ride.” In case you’re wondering, Aussies are up there with the rowdiest audiences worldwide. But, when it comes to drinking, Brett insists the English put us to shame. Is that a challenge?
Drinking aside, the heart of the show is the performers, who are not just talented, but unique. Brett has trawled through the strange and dingy side-shows, streets and underground bars of cities the world over seeking out his special breed of delicious freak whose talent is dwarfed only by their quirky yet authentic characters.
Using an example from the show, he explains: “the English Gents is one the best hand to hand acts in the world, but why? Because they have really rich characters, it’s laced with humour, the characters endear themselves to an audience. Meanwhile, off the cuff, one of them will be doing a single-arm handstand on the other one’s head.”The shows encompass circus, acrobatics, slapstick, burlesque and acts too numerous to mention. And this is, once again, where it really works for the YouTube generation. “The show moves at such a rapid pace and it’s constantly changing, so you know if you‘re not into something then five minutes later it’s going to drastically change.
“In this digital age, whether we really recognise it or not, it means a lot to people to just sit in a room and share something and be connected. All of a sudden, you’re going to grab the arm of the stranger next to you and squeal and shriek with delight. It really brings this group of people closer together and that’s really significant.” 
While this all might be starting to sound quite deep, Brett insists: “it's shameless entertainment, shameless escapism. We don’t want to beat the audience over the head with a message. It's pure entertainment and very old fashioned in that sense. It’s a big celebration of difference. Of the weird and wonderful.”
A worldwide phenomenon, La Soirée has been seen by more than five million people. The cast and crew are now celebrating their 10 year anniversary and, after all this time, have worked out exactly the right time to stop: “when it loses its sparkle and doesn’t feel fresh anymore… which means there’s no end in sight!”
Brett’s world is one of mostly organised but often absolute chaos. But, at least for now, there’s nothing he’d rather be doing. “We’re incredibly fortunate and eternally grateful that, at the end of our working day, people stand up, clap, shriek, squeal, laugh and applaud us for doing our job. That is very addictive and an amazing thing.”La Soirée plays Queensland Performing Arts Centre, 7 – 24 May and Darwin Entertainment Centre, 28 May - 14 June.
