What is your show about?
Dear Delphine is a dark and salacious cabaret that brings the darker side of Monica Trapaga (of children’s television and Playschool notoriety) to the stage. The show brings her talent as a gutsy jazz singer, coupled with burlesque, circus and a healthy dose of vaudeville to the stage. Delphine is a twisted agony aunt with an ear for the cheeky and sadistic.
What motivated you to put this show on?
Our family loves the rich, sweaty feeling that exudes from New Orleans. If you have read Tom Robbins’ Jitterbug Perfume, loved a dry gin fizz, or wished to write a mischievous response to an agony aunt column, then it begins to explain our motivations. We love to create a vibrant, visual backdrop to cushion our shows and the Southern Creole persuasion in the 1940s had a plethora of rich ideas to choose from.
What sets your show apart from others at Fringe?
This show is not targeted for one age group. Seniors with a love of jazz will like this take on old classics, as will the younger crew who love a little mischief and seeing a childhood icon becoming a real person filled with sassy comments and cheeky asides. With circus, live music, a dash of nudity and a fair amount of chaos, this show is fun night out for those that love a laugh.
How has your prior work informed your show?
Monica Trapaga has been a jazz musician for as long as I have been alive. As her daughter, I have watched her for the last 31 years master the intricacies of the jazz greats: Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey. She has pulled her knowledge as an entertainer from three decades of stage work together with a bunch of younger circus performers to bring Dear Delphine to life.
Venue: Emerald City – The Rabbit Hole, Meat Market
Dates: September 21 – September 24
Time: 9pm
Tickets: $20
