Days 115 and 116 - Return to Sydney and Sydney Opera House Show

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Thursday 13th and Friday14th March, 2014. Return to Sydney and Sydney Opera House Show

After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Geoff, Elizabeth and Bella. Then we set off in the car back towards Hobart. We arrived in good time for our flight and returned the car which passed inspection without any problems. This good luck was not to last however! When we entered the terminal we sorted ourselves out and went air-side after clearing security. Once on the other side it became clear that our flight was delayed. As a gesture of good will each passenger was given $8 voucher to spend in the cafe so we had two snacks and a beer.. As we ate our lunch the plane arrived and we got on it only some 45 minutes late. Once at the other side we waited in the (very long) queue for a taxi to take us back to Rachel's place. As we headed toward Sydney we noticed that the traffic was very heavy. The driver explained that there had been a big fire in one of the road tunnels yesterday and things were not back to normal yet. As we approached the ANZAC bridge we could see it was at a standstill. D had a discussion with the driver and we decided to approach Rozelle via Glebe. We arrived at Rach's and collected the key from Howard and Brenda next door.

We went for a drink at The Welcome and then returned home to wait for Rach to come in from work. We went to eat at the Vietnamese. M and Rach shared one of their lovely salads for a starter while D had quail again. We waited ages for our main
courses and in the end gave up and left. Rach said that this was the first time that she had ever had to do anything like that there as the service was usually excellent. The salad was enough for us though.

On the Friday morning Rach went to work and D went to Paddy's Market to buy a new suitcase as the wheels had fallen off the original. M told him to get something recognizable and largish. He returned with a cavernous purple jobbie. We went for lunch at our favourite Thai place and had a green curry each. We then returned home to get ready for our night at the Opera House.

We caught the bus down to Circular Quay and met Rach outside Mc D's. We then went for a pre-show drink at a bar next to the Opera House on Circular Quay. We made our way to the correct foyer for our show (the Opera House has a number of theatres and foyers). We went inside and found a good seat at the back which was raised slightly higher than those in front. This was good as all 3 of us are short-arses! Having secured our seats Rach went to get some drinks and D took some pictures of the stage before the show started. The stage was like a circus ring and had seats all around. At the back there were tables and chairs for those in the audience who had splashed out for the caboret (and more expensive) seats. We had been told that photography was prohibited during the performance. We were going to see "La Soirée".

La Soiree has brought the house down in theatres across the world. The blurb said to expect the unexpected. The show purported to contain the "world's greatest exponents of cabaret, new burlesque, circus sidewow and vaudeville". M wasn't sure what the genre's were so looked them up before we went. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation or drama. It is mainly distinguished by the performance venue (also called a cabaret), such as in a restaurant, pub or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, does not typically dance but usually sits at tables. Performances are usually introduced by a master of ceremonies or MC. The entertainment is often oriented towards adult audiences. Burlesque is a literary,
dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery. Vaudeville is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment. A typical vaudeville performance is made up of a series of
separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts have included popular and classical musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, female and male impersonators, acrobats, illustrated songs, jugglers, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels, and movies. We were really looking forward to it. It turned out that the show had all of these characteristics - right down to the MC.

La Soirée was first presented by Brett Haylock, Mark Rubinstein and Mick Perrin that debuted in London in October 2010 to rave reviews. The show features a rotating cast of approximately 25 artists, with the acts varying from night to night. La Soirée has often been cited as an example of the recent mainstream popularity of the burlesque and cabaret genres, In November 2011, La Soirée was nominated in the first annual London Cabaret Awards, which celebrate the growing cabaret scene in London. La Soirée won in the category of Best One-Off Show.

Every act was absolutely amazing. We watched in awe as Miss Behave came on with her infamous sword swallowing act. From Britain Ursula Martinez came on armed with her mischievous disappearing hanky. Her act is called 'Hanky Panky' - a magic strip-tease. She starts off completely dressed in a business suit holding a bright red hanky. The hanky disappears and she pulls it out of her jacket. Then she takes the jacket off and the mischievous hanky disappears again this time she pulls it out of her bra - then she takes the bra off. She continues with the hanky disappearing and reappearing and subsequent removal of the article of clothing that it last appeared from until she is absolutely starkers. Then she goes to the centre of the stage and bends over and pulls the hanky out of her vagina, she then struts off tossing the hanky at a gentleman in the audience. D watched mesmerised.

There were several aerial acts including two of the world's finest aerial artists Hugo and Katherine who made us gasp with their gravity defying acrobatics. There was a fantastic guy in a wheelchair who performed the most amazing acrobatics - his upper body strength was incredible as he hauled himself (with his wheelchair strapped on to his useless legs) around the aerial trapese.

David and Fofo, who are from Sweden, amazed us with the act which involved mind blowing accuracy of bouncing ping pong balls, juggling and acrobatics (all at the same time!). We all thought one of the best acts was 'The Queen' giving an absolutely hilarious (and very unqueenly) speech including swearing and two fingered gestures. The show featured sassy hula hooper Jess Love - the things she can do with hula hoops (and lots of them) was amazing. She did miss a trick but made a point of re-doing it to prove that it could be done.

There were a number of acts performed by cabaret artist Le Gateau Chocolate. This is not the typical performer you would expect to see in drag, but then this larger than life singer is anything but typical. He is an earth-shattering baritone drag queen. A diva with a penchant for being wrapped in body-hugging lycra and a passion for laughter. In his outrageous acts, we saw him deliver moving renditions of opera, pop, jazz and musical theatre - he was fantastic.

The Skating Willers rounded off this incredible line up (apologies if we have missed anyone out). With their big top pedigree and death-defying stunts this was an amazing roller skating act. He is the great-grandson of Billy Smart, son of the Elephant Girl, born in Arbroath. She is a former Playboy bunny who ran away with the circus to be with him. The Skating Willers had come out of retirement for one final swan song to be in this show. It will be their last performance tomorrow.

The show was something you won't find elsewhere in the mainstream and the whole evening offered a quirky sense of fun, which is the true genius of the show. It is testament to the breathtaking beauty and strength of the human body. The seamless production allowed no time for us to pick our jaws up off the floor before the next act took to the stage. We would thoroughly recommend this show to anyone - but don't take the children!

We left the Opera House and strolled along Circular Quay looking at the CBD, Harbour Bridge, Cruise Liners and back at the Opera House all lit up. We found a couple more fibreglass Rhino's and took some snaps. Once out of Circular Quay we found a Double Decker bus where it looked like something was going down. Inside was a huge Great White Shark that had been encased in clear resin. It had been caught from a 3.5 metre dinghy. The bus was trying to raise awareness of the plight of our amazing sea creatures. There were lots of interesting exhibits including the testicles from a Sperm Whale and a Sei Whale Skull. As we left we posted a donation in the box provided.

Rachel then took us into the Customs House. This is one of Sydney's finest heritage buildings but thus far we had only seen it from the outside. Rach promised there was a surprise inside for D. We walked into a grand atrium with impressive Helix staircase and striking contemporary interior. In the middle was the 'surpirse' - a giant City Model showcased under the glass of the ground floor.
We could walk all over it. The detail was amazing and it was obviously assiduously updated as all the latest buildings were present. Also on show in the foyer was an exhibition of knitted coral reefs - yes really. Rach loved them as she collects knitted stuff.

We caught the bus home and after a few glasses of vino and some cheese and biscuits we went to bed. A really great day and another off the bucket list - to see a show at the Sydney Opera House. Tomorrow we start our journey home.

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