Circus, burlesque and cabaret collide for a mesmerizing performance created for the Charleston Gaillard Center by one of London’s most prominent West End entertainment producers. There are seven chances to see Cabaret Royale between now and the final 9:30 p.m. performance on Dec. 22.
Cabaret Royale is part of the Gaillard’s second annual Spiegeltent programming this November and December. This special show is also the U.S. premiere for Underbelly, the U.K.-based entertainment company that produced the work.
Katharine Arnold, one of the show’s aerial performers and creative director, told the Charleston City Paper during a phone interview from London that viewers of this multifaceted show can expect comedy, aerial and acrobatic acts, as well as performances by clowns and burlesque artists.
“We’ve all created some new acts just for this show,” Arnold said. “This particular show hasn’t been seen anywhere else before.”
She said Underbelly is excited to premiere its U.S. show in the Gaillard’s Spiegeltent.
“Underbelly has a huge history of being the biggest producers of the Spiegeltent in the U.K., but it will be the first foray into doing something in the United States. We’re all really excited to come and bring this show to Charleston,” Arnold said.
If you haven’t caught a performance at the Spiegeltent yet — or driven by it on Calhoun Street — it’s a gorgeous historical circus tent which offers an extra special setting for a show like Cabaret Royale.
“It’s a tent, but it’s all made of wood and mirrors,” Arnold said. “You have a small stage in the center, so the audience is all around the action, and it feels very intimate. There’s a lot of connection between the performers and the audience.”
This sense of connection is a facet of the Cabaret Royale performance and the Spiegeltent programming as a whole, which the Gaillard’s CEO Lissa Frenkel is particularly keen on.
“We have created a more intimate way to engage with our audiences and to create a Charleston holiday experience that’s specifically associated with the center,” Frenkel said.
The Spiegeltent is one of only 37 of these mirrored tents left in the world. They were originally built in Europe in the late 1800s.
“It’s a pretty special place for these performances to happen. We’re dealing with world-class performers in a tiny tent with 200 people. And so it’s really an opportunity for Charleston to rub shoulders with these really cool and interesting artists.”
The cast of performers
The renowned cast of performers includes Grace Lusk, a stand-up and character comedian and clown hot off of five years headlining Spiegelworld’s OPM at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. She got her start in the Chicago comedy scene and learned clowning at the Los Angeles clown company The Idiot Workshop. Grace has performed on many stages with her off-the-wall comedy. She will serve as the ringmaster of the show and a participating clown and stand-up comedian.
Circus artist Charlie Wheeller will perform on a cyr wheel, an acrobatic apparatus that consists of a single large ring made of aluminum or steel. He’ll present acrobatic acts alongside Arnold, who became a finalist on France’s Got Talent in 2015 for her aerial performances. And circus performer Josie Jones will perform the ancient and impressive art of hair suspension — which is exactly what it sounds like, an acrobatic performance while suspended by her hair.
Finally, expect burlesque performances by Miss Jolie Papillon, an award-winning, internationally known dance star who’s made a name for herself through her sensual performances inside a giant martini glass.
The show is for people ages 18 and older due to partial nudity, adult themes and strong language.
“We know it’s going to be extraordinarily high quality,” Frenkel said. “The burlesque and aerial performance and artistry is just at another level. Underbelly are really master craftsmen when it comes to telling stories through circus and engaging audiences in that way. So we are just delighted to be able to provide this quality of performance here in Charleston.”
Tickets to Underbelly start at $70 and are available for purchase at gaillardcenter.org.
The last performance is at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 22.
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