It Takes Two: Songs In The Key Of Giraffe

Red Giraffe Theatre have only been established in Mackay since 2015, but they are already renowned for delivering first class productions and that was exactly what the audience of their latest cabaret act, It Takes Two: Songs In The Key Of Giraffe got for their ticket money this weekend - class all the way.
Anybody can put on a show, serve up a beer along with it and call it Cabaret, but to a more discerning audience, a lot more elements need to be present for a production to be defined as being a true cabaret experience and producers of Red Giraffe Theatre, Joel Bow and Tania Attard have a flair for serving up those qualities, silver- service style with aplomb and the confidence of two people that know everything there is to know about creating a smash. There’s a secretive, smoky mood that is ever present with their productions, and it does not matter if you’re in a warehouse, a church or a cocktail bar, if you’re going to see a Red Giraffe Theatre production you are in for a decadent experience, where the atmosphere is as on point as the production itself and the audience member is guaranteed to be taken on a slow, comfy and sensorially-gratifying ride.

Yes the producers know how to deliver glamour, but more importantly than that, their productions are built on a solid foundation of talent, and It Takes Two featured a line up of performers that are doing exactly what they were putting on this earth to do- sing. There were no props and no costumes, no sets and no pre-amble, just a series of incredible duets and trio acts performed not only by adults, but by children and teenagers that seemed as comfortable on stage by their seasoned cast-mates and did not seem even slightly out of place in the venue, Dirty Martini’s, which is a sophisticated cocktail bar. There was no obvious theme to the playlist because some of the songs were bluesy, some moody, some funny and some powerful, but the acts all flowed seamlessly into one another, leaving the audience wanting more and in awe not only of the performers, but of the accompanist Caireen Holt, who jumped from genre to genre without a beat being missed.

I could not have faulted one note, but certain moments took my breath away, for instance, Molly Gibbins and Molly Rosetto’s duet performance of ‘Let Me Be Your Star’ from the hit TV show Smash which was built up beautifully, and Tania Attard and Georgia Attard’s rendition of ‘Musical Theatre Boys,’ which had the audience giggling. Ashleigh Phillips sparkled onstage in every way that counted and sang with the poise of someone that’s been playing pro shows for years, and the featured pros in the show, Jason McCully, Regan Walker and Joel Bow put the audience at ease early in the production by giving us some incredible male harmonies. Apparently there was a microphone mishap in the opening number, but Danielle McCully and Karla Brechin’s lovely voices resonated so beautifully through the venue that someone actually had to bring that fact to my attention, and although this was the first time that I’d heard Kirsty Robertson sing, my jaw was on the flaw thanks to her vocal tone which can only be described as velveteen, and offered up a lovely contrast to Bethany Ellefson’s infallible Broadway belt during their duet.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t possibly hope to highlight every single worthy performer without writing an essay instead of a review, but it goes without saying that every name on the cast list of It Takes Two has the talent necessary to become a household name, so make sure you book a ticket to Red Giraffe Theatre’s next show because it is bound, as always, to be chock-full of stars in the making.

Samantha Munt