Raunchy escape from 2020
Hysterical and heartfelt script is performed by a trio of dazzling performers
Anyone in the mood to call 2020 a day and dive right into the summer holidays should look no further than The Basement Theatre. Its final show for the year, Le Basement XXXmas Cabaret, is the early Christmas present we all need, a madcap musical from writers Kura Forrester and Hayley Sproull that shakes off those Covid cobwebs and showcases just why live theatre is so necessary.
The surprisingly meta show focuses on Le Basement Cabaret Club, which is facing closure if long-time MCs Zsa Zsa (Ava Diakhaby) and Alex (Bryony Skillington) can’t pull off one final Christmas fundraiser to save the club.
The pair will do anything to make it a success – even if they have to contend with leaking pipes, a dickey hip, old flames and the burning ambitions of their put-upon colleague Poppie (Brynley Stent).
It’s a straightforward story – a marked shift from recent Basement Christmas shows – but by taking a toned-back approach, Forrester and Sproull have taken this decade-long theatrical tradition to new heights.
They aren’t reliant on a fancy set (Ruby Read’s understated, purposefully fault set oozes cabaret), unnecessary gimmicks or a bunch of Christmas references (the spirit of the season is there, but the story is not tied down to the holidays).
Instead, Le Basement only relies on a hysterical and heartfelt script, performed by a trio of dazzling performers whose talents are given room to shine.
Stent, Skillington and Diakhaby all show themselves to be stars in their own right, with the vocal prowess to sell every song while delivering a master class in comic timing. It’s hard to highlight a standout when all three have such command of their characters they feel like they’ve been breathing this world for years.
The three worked perfectly alongside Laura Daniel, who was opening night’s guest actor.
It’s a long-running Basement tradition that every show features a different guest star – in this year’s case, a musician – in an improvised role. It can be hit and miss, but Sproull and Forrester have struck the right balance between giving the performer a purpose in the story without making the plot reliant on their interactions with the cast.
Really, while Le Basement may be failing, every element of the show itself worked in perfect unison. The original songs by Sproull and Jason Smith are witty and contagious, aided by choreographer Rebekkah Schoonbeek-Berridge’s taut and comedic routines. The costumes from Tim Blake and Elyssia Wilson-Heti felt ripped from Chicago.
And director Leon Wadham – fast becoming one to watch – deserves all the credit for pulling these elements together and making such a flawed theatre look so seamless.
After a year such as this, it’s great to see that theatre in the country is still going strong. Le Basement is a welcome addition to The Basement Christmas canon, the brilliant creatives on stage and off delivering a riotous, raunchy and ridiculous night out that you will want to revisit again and again; give me sequels, give me merch, if Zsa Zsa and Alex still need our money, I am happy to hand it over.