Prior to hitting the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the cast of Velvet have been honing their skills across the globe. A disco-cabaret featuring some of Australia’s best stage and musical talent along with a host of burlesque, dance and circus performers, the spectacle is set to quite literally soar. This hedonistic extravaganza, led by the inimitable Marcia Hines, has already been garnering awards, and as singer/performer Brendan Maclean and aerialist Emma Goh explain, the Coopers Malthouse season is certain to have people dancing in the aisles.
“What I love about shows like this is that the audience is so close,” Goh grins. “They can see everything that passes over your face, so you have to be on your toes. Sometimes when you’re on a stage that’s miles away, you can kind of get away with pulling a couple of strange faces and nobody will notice, but here, they can see everything! You need to be mindful. But it means you can interact with them a lot more, you have these moments where you’re connecting with different people, which makes it a much more intimate experience.”
“That’s the funny thing about live performance,” Maclean agrees. “As much as you are emoting, far more important than having tears rolling down your cheeks or whatever is making sure you don’t fall head over heels into the front row, which most of us has done at least once. This show has a lot of action, there are a lot of lights, a lot of technical aspects. You have to be careful you’re not being kicked in the head by a passing aerialist.”
He laughs. “You have to know every inch of the stage, you need to know what the backup singers are doing twenty feet away, you have to know there’s rigging there above you, and at the Opera House it’s only going to be more intense. We’re adding things that didn’t exist when we started in Adelaide, it’s going to be an incredible spectacle. Hey, you might get knocked out, but at least it looks impressive!”
Between the two of them, they’re certainly bringing a wealth of disparate talents. Goh has travelled the world as a dancer, from stadium shows to intimate venues, and the musicality of her movement is astounding. Maclean is also no stranger to varied success, swinging between presenting on Triple J, featuring in Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, to his own burgeoning music career. Velvet will see the pair incorporate the full sweep of their talents, honed through years of practice, success, and setbacks.
“Performing has become really competitive these days as well,” Goh admits. “Because there are so few jobs out there, you always need to be pushing yourself. These days it’s really important to have some ground skill that you can do, so you’re always working on increasing the acrobatic ground-based stuff you can do, and quite often that will help with what you do in the air. I’ve done a lot of cabaret work, but this show is different and I’m just loving every moment of the ride. I’m sort of the sassy party girl, which is fun. I get to have a bit of attitude. It’s such a great cast, it’s so much fun to be a part of.”
“I come into Velvet as a very lost little boy who doesn’t have an outlet for his sexuality or performance,” Maclean explains. “For me, Velvet really is about that. It’s promoting the individuality that I’ve struggled to balance with my performance. I was always terrified to use my real voice on Triple J for fear of getting hundreds of texts saying, ‘You faggot’. And I mean, you really do get those texts. Or performing at the Landsdowne and wanting to dress up and be myself on stage, and getting torn apart for it. For being myself, for being theatrical. For being a lover of queer culture and the queer community. So this show perfectly reflects my own journey, where finally, this character comes into themselves and opens up to so much love and success.”
Venue: The Coopers Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre – 113 Sturt St, Southbank.
Dates: March 23 – April 17 (except Mondays)
Times: Tuesday – Thursday 7.30pm.
Friday 7pm & 8.30pm.
Saturday 5pm & 8pm.
Sunday 5pm.
Tickets: $49 – $89
