A dimly-lit-in-red bar buzzed with anticipation and when the cast members of Little Egypt’s Speakeasy finally emerged it wasn’t what was expected. A well-dressed bunch of jazz musicians sauntered on stage and broke into a breezy, drum-led opening number. Next up, Amos Elroy, the MC for the night, introduced the pianist and horn section. Before you knew it, three songs down and there wasn’t a burlesque dancer in sight.
This became a testament to the quality of the cast. When one of the two alluring dancers came out it was purely for the advancement of the plot, the story of a burlesque club owner who’d decided to give it all away. His wife had left him and audiences were too interested in their iPhones to bother. The set-up paved the way for some genuinely sharp wit, including stabs at Marrickville council and the Minogue sisters. Passionate performances more than made up for some poor accents, the crowd more than obliging every request. Artists seemed to stream from the back room all night, every brilliant song and dance routine the better for it. “Take us back to the good old days,” the MC repeated regularly. Somebody must’ve tapped some sparkly red high-heels together, because it felt like we were already there.
Django Bar
