Concert –
The Horror of the
Inch
Producer/Company –
All That Glitters
Venue, Date and Time –
Order of Melbourne
Sunday, 22
January, 8pm
DnM Night Club
Sunday, 29
January, 7.30pm
Cast –
Jess Barlow, Joel
Bow, Leela Thompson, Dinesh Mathew
Crew –
Musically directed
by Shanon Whitelock
The Midsumma gay
and lesbian carnival always has some gems tucked away in its program each
year. One of the slightly less polished ones this year was this concert, which
included a program ranging from ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ to ‘Hedwig and the
Angry Inch’, with plenty of glam rock and/or roll in between.
A talented cast headlined ‘Horror’, with
Jess Barlow being quite a find. Barlow’s amazing vocal range effortlessly
scaled the heights of her songs. The boyishly handsome Dinesh Mathew provided
plenty of bare-torsoed eye candy. And Rach Collins belted out her several
numbers, while Joe Bow did his best David Bowie.
I attended ‘Horror’ twice; initially
at the Order of Melbourne, after I received free tickets from a friend, and
then at DnM Night Club. Neither venues was entirely appropriate to the show,
though: Order of Melbourne had a very curious seating design, although its
atmosphere and décor certainly suited the production; and while DnM’s
atmosphere was appropriate for the show, the small-ish audience at this performance
was a little lost in the large room.
‘Horror’ was a fun, stylish evening
of rock and roll, but it was let down by a lack of polish and rehearsal. The
show would have greatly benefitted from a director to smooth out the technical
elements of the show. The band was in great form, but the sound design was such
that the singers’ vocals were often overshadowed. Bearing these comments in
mind, the audience on both nights I attended accepted the limitations of the
production and still enjoyed the great rock and/or roll on offer.
Verdict? – Enjoyably bad.
(The Abusicals two-word summary is, of course, tongue-in-cheek.)
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