Every year, during the Winnipeg Fringe, a Super (not so) Secret Midnight Cabaret is held in the King's Head Pub as a fundraiser for the festival volunteers, the Jenny Revue, and a local charity. This year's cabaret was titled Archy Bluetooth's Seven Magic Moving Lustnuts, After Jake Lilliput's 52 Sorry Little Fruitpips And Accidentally Murder Lavignia Orwell's Grim Fallflop Jabberanza, Again. If you know your Winnipeg Fringe, you can guess which festival performers will be involved by the title of the show. People were lining up for tickets to this event at least three hours before they went on sale (which was about an hour and a half befre the show even started). It was nuts. It was also the most creative and entertaining show I've seen all year. If you're ever in town for the Winnipeg Fringe, you do not want to miss this event. Oh, and don't forget to bring a flashlight. Also every year, a certain gentleman and his wife come from Ottawa to Winnipeg to attend the entire festival. They've been doing this for what seems like ages and this is the first time they couldn't be here. They are both incredibly supportive of the Fringe (in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and elsewhere, I'm sure) and have been a tremendous help to me in my journey. Therefore, as a thank you, here is my live tweet of the cabaret, including pictures, for Brian and his wife.
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For @BrianMCarroll: I shall live tweet the super secret midnight cabaret tonight #winnipegfringe
Performers have gone up. Cabaret starts soon!
I'm Nancy Kenny. I don't wait in line.
Place is packing in. Feel like Elaine saving seats.
Welcome to the cabaret ol' chum! A packed house:
We're starting! Flashlights out! There's an iPhone app for that.
Up first: Sound & Fury
Sound & Fury have an hommage to Fringe Crushes with a song Everybody Wants to Fuck Our Girlfriends
Amy Lester doing a jem rolls poem:
Becky from murder hope plays the saw while Pipa girl and Jono Katz dance!
Oh Rob Gee dancing too
And now the real jem rolls stands up!
Celeste is looking hawt tonight!
Chris Bange - flamenco music, a vest and magic rings. What more can I say?
Gemma Wilcox doing a stellar one woman piece.
Andrew from Putz doing a bit about being a sidekick to She-Ra, Princess of Power.
Julia from Jake's Gift and Candy from Afterlife are next. (ed. note I later found out this was a 1 minute play Julia wrote for a CBC competition, which she won!)
Now for some cello music!
Amazing! Cello, breakdancing, performance poetry and beatboxing all rolled into one giant artgasm! Greatest. Night. Evah.
And with that slam dunk, intermission is earned.
Oh here's She-Ra and her sidekick:
Amy Lester in my boots = hawt!
Everyone is making sure I'm well "hydrated"
Aaaaaaand we're back! CRUMBS seems to be having technical difficulties
CRUMBS on a date
And now for a song
Jono Katz saves the day with a new microphone for our singer in mid-song.
Lana Schwartz is hungry for Chris Gibbs
More Rob Gee is always a good thing.
Help writing your life story is here with One Man Showman!
If you want a successful one man show, one word: Africa
Kinda confused by the haikus...
Jeff Culbert & Jayson McDonald on touring.
Be the Captain of your own Destiny
Killing ppl on the waiting list to make sure you get into a festival. McDonald makes sure they all have accidents.
Ryan, Jonny P & Tara in not Lavignia, but Lavagina
You know, it's not a real event unless silly string shoots out of a fake plastic penis... Not once but twice!
Chris Gibbs and a sexy hairy chest talks about Desire. And everyone is back for a closing number.
And that's it for my first secret midnight cabaret at #winnipegfringe!