Popera: Sex, Death & Politics

Is it pop? Is it opera? Is it a game show? It’s all of these, and more, as cabaret performer Uma Dobia commands the stage in a wickedly revealing leotard, garnished with feather boa and a perky little hat. Dobia is disarming with the audience, has a show-stopping operatic voice and her transpositions of pop songs to operatic arias are both excellent and hilarious.

Accompanying Dobia on piano and singing backing vocals is Carol, who also helps to keep Dobia’s focus on the show and away from her duplicitous assistant, Trevor. It’s a show that challenges the patriarchy in these performing arts, mostly through humour, which has the audience both laughing out loud and wondering if they should be – it’s cleverly written to keep it light without shying away from asking questions.

Between the game show format, where audience members are asked questions on sex, death and politics and how pop and opera relate to these, are original songs from Dobia, director Bronny Lane, and Simon Reich – and they’re wonderful earworms (I’m still singing the title track now). Audience participation is encouraged, asking Carol to ‘spin the wheel’ or shake their maracas to answer a question, but none of it is pressured and all of it is wonderful fun.

Divas from Maria Callas to Mariah Carey collide in outrageously funny mash-ups across genres of pop and opera, with some scandalous lyrics Mozart would have enjoyed, though you don’t have to be an expert in either to enjoy Dobia and her performance. This is a fabulous, dirty and smart cabaret performance – made even better by making it accessible, with at least one more show having a pre-show tactile experience and sign language throughout.

Review by Mark Wickett

Click here to read our Adelaide Fringe 2025 reviews