Review – Spiderlash: Vampire Vaudeville

It’s not every day that your ID card is licked by a vampire, but anything is possible at Dracula’s Cabaret Restaurant. Even if you’re not a tourist, seeing a Dracula’s show is a right of passage for anyone with an interest in the obscure, grotesque, gastronomic and/or undead pleasures of the world. Their new show, Spiderlash, will have you blood-lusting for more, with unbelievable special effects, malevolent magicians, tantalising burlesque, funky musicians playing jazzy, revamped pop-rock classics, and, my personal favourite, a glow-in-the-dark tyrannosaurus rex playing ukulele.

Dracula’s has a surprisingly warm energy despite it’s cold-blooded hosts. Leaning more towards playfully trashy than their dangerously sexy TV counterparts, the Aussie-vampire guides interact throughout the night with the audience, gently but persistently luring them deeper into their fang-tastical world. I highly recommend the VIP experience. Our waiter, Nightmare, was the perfect balance of hostile and hospitable, the three-course meal (order the lamb as your main) was mostly good (at times served warm, not hot), and the cocktail list was well-priced and exciting, with the tempting option to upgrade to fish-bowl-sized glasses as a novelty.

The show itself is Vaudevillian style, a series of unrelated acts performed by six impressively versatile entertainers (Philippa Harrison, Gillian Perry, Finn Gilfedder-Cooney, Matthew Garwood and David Small). A few of the many acts seemed a little unrefined, but ultimately all of the performers are incredibly gifted, skilled in a variety of performance styles, including comedy, illusion, dance, acrobatics (the spider/net aerial act was particularly impressive), live music performance, singing, black-light puppetry and burlesque. A highlight was choreographer/performer Philippa Harrison’s execution of one of the most sensual burlesque acts imaginable, wearing gold lingerie atop a giant, red-finger-nailed hand.

A Dionysian feast for the senses, Dracula’s catapults you into an edgy supernatural world that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The performing artists address the audience spontaneously, with a masterful understanding of who they are performing to and, furthermore, where they are sitting. With fewer clichés than expected, there were surprises and new discoveries to be made constantly throughout the night. This dinner theatre experience is not to be overlooked.