She’s fierce, enthralling and totally endearing, all while completely clothed – a fact referenced many times by the daring diva Yana Alana herself – as she struts the stage in the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Banquet Room.
With a voice that absolutely wows, Yana Alana (the alter ego of Melbourne cabaret performer Sarah Ward) opens with a crowd stopping rendition of ‘History Repeating’, announcing her arrival on a cool winter’s night. Setting a haunting tone for the beginning of the show, things become lighter as backing band The Paranas are introduced and the playful banter began.
It’s not all Skittles and beer though, as themes of creative control, body image and success in the creative industries are subtly explored throughout the hour long performance. Reminding the crowd that she is performing covers of songs written by others, all whilst fully clothed in order to appeal to a more mainstream audience, leads to a stream of quotes from famous songs throughout history being the sole form of communication with the crowd. This, while funny and even hilarious at times, does become a little tired before it is pushed to its absolute extreme, once again becoming mildly amusing. The heavily scripted style of audience interaction that this leads to does seem to inhibit the shows potential somewhat, causing it to feel over-rehearsed and cutting off any opportunity for fun banter and spontaneity, the kind that gives audience members that special feeling of being included in something completely unique and one-off.
Show styling aside, Yana sings tunes from a range of musical styles with expert precision. Her vocal range is truly something to be revered, and her sassy stage presence means that there is not a moment in this one hour show where the crowd’s attention wavers. Credit must also be given to The Paranas – consisting of Bec Matthews and Louise Goh – whose musical prowess and straight down the line delivery of jokes adds another dimension to this already enjoyable show.
While a solid and entertaining cabaret show featuring performers who are, without a doubt, some of the best in the industry, it all just felt a little too rehearsed.
Yana Alana is a performer whose name has been whirling around the festival circuit as a must-see act for a number of years now, and certainly for good reason. However, this show didn’t feel like the very best example of someone who is clearly bursting with talent.
