The Glitz

When the Pink Flamingo opened in 2019, it brought back a style and mode of entertainment which hadn’t been seen in more than 50 years. Swanky, sophisticated and classy, it showed us a glimpse of the nightclubs of old, when people dressed in their finest clothes, drank the finest bubbles, and watched cabaret whose excellence was never in question. It was a bold move by Susan Porret and her business partner Tony Rigas, and some questioned whether this kind of entertainment, once the domain of the casinos and supper-clubs, had any place in the 21^st Century. It was the sheer excellence in all aspects of their first show that created a buzz and put the bums on seats. Audiences can still recognise style and class, even if they have never seen it before.

But then we were struck by the pandemic, and the tourists simply stopped coming, or weren’t allowed past the border. Could the Spiegelclub survive such a devastating blow? Well it not only could, it did, and in fact went from strength to strength, now featuring two shows most nights with four glamorous productions in rotation.

This latest show is called The Glitz and it features the stunning costumes, perfectly executed choreography by Anthony Ikin, stunning showgirls and brilliant specialty acts we have grown to expect and love.

Rudi Testa is back, in the form of his alter ego M’sieur Jerome. He’s the kind of MC that is worth MORE than his weight in Gold …charming, great stage presence and able to adlib in any situation…..he is the sparkly glue that holds the production together. He is ably supported by the stunning Amy Doyle as Miss Jubilee, an archetype soubrette who sings, dances and handles comedy well. Her tap routine brought cheers from those who have never seen tap before. It’s simplicity, some snatches, timesteps and a break could be overlooked by her personality and terrific execution and energy in the routine.

Sam Hyrckow provides great comic mime relief as the Bellboy and delights in every little vignette.

Matt Chadwick brings a wealth of experience to his role as the Crooner. His light tenor voice is a delight in the production and he even gets his own spot in the pre-show entertainment.

But it’s the specialty acts that steal the show. Resplendence, an acrobatic duo consisting of the amazing Jordan Smith and the astonishingly supple Alina Suvorina, give us two great acts. They end the first half with roller skating acrobatics on the tiniest of platforms, again an act which most of the audience would never have seen before. But it is their second act Adagio that is sheer perfection and as good as anything you will see anywhere in the world.

Teenage aerialist sensation Zaryna Martysevich is quite stunning and surely bound for glory on the international scene.

The rest of the cast (Sienna Tupea-Smith, Cristian Falcon, Tori Hasselmeyer, Nicolas Mena, Riley Cater, Gemma Goodwin) all sing, dance and do acrobatics and/or aerial tricks. It’s a superb cast for any show.

Even the glossy programme is an exercise in excellence - simply gorgeous with it’s Art Deco artwork.

If I have one little niggle (and I confess it’s just a personal one) it’s that so much effort has been put into creating characters for the cast, and writing copious programme notes about the era of the 20s and 30s (even the waitresses are immaculately dressed in flapper beaded dresses -and boy, aren’t they terrific staff) and yet the show doesn’t thematically have anything to do with the era at all, except for the one dance number, “Putting on the Glitz”, which is a sheer delight. It would be great to have even a sketchy narrative or throughline linking the era to what we are actually seeing. It’s easily done, not intrusive and even could be done in recorded voice over. There’s not much point giving artists characters, if it’s impossible to connect with them. A slim storyline would give everyone a Raison D’etre. But that’s just a minor niggle from a performer from another era. For 99.9% of the audience, it doesn’t matter and The Glitz delivers even more than it promises in sheer entertainment.

Coral Drouyn