Club Black Widow - Cabaret Fringe Festival Review
The near future looks grim for Club Black Widow when a fancy new bar opens up across the road, but is there hope?
Co-produced by Hope Meffie and Josh Talbot-Smith, Club Black Widow is a theatrical play which follows the story of the main protagonist Trent, a seedy building developer who will stop at nothing (including seducing the town councillor) to claim the reigns of Club Black Widow in order to build an apartment complex.
What stands in his way however are his growing legal fees, an upcoming journalist looking to expose the cracks of his dealings, and a club which is determined not to close its doors despite the obvious lack of customers and staff morale.
Full of rats and empty of alcohol, Club Black Widow has seen better days. The existing staff are fed up but yet still reside in the club for an unknown reason, and when a new girl starts to work there, she soon learns the realities of the real world.
Mrs Norris who plays a homeless woman and resides in Club Black Widow for the majority of the play acts as the main narrator. She delivers her words of wisdom, conspiracy, and take home message of the play, which is on the concept of karma aka ‘what goes around comes around’.
Take what you want of the conclusion of Club Black Widow, for it is bleak and doesn’t end on a happy note. A good play is a good play regardless of how it ends, and it left me feeling greatly entertained and provided some laughs throughout as well.
The play features a group of local South Australian performing artists who are early in their performing careers. For some, it was their debut performance on stage.
Expectedly, there were a few minor hiccups, like the unintentional breaking of a plastic cup and slight slip-ups of the tongue when delivering some of their lines. However, this did not detract from their performance overall, which was fun and entertaining.
The tension between the staff in Club Black Widow, the evolving nature of all the characters as the play progressed, and the convincing nature of Talbot-Smith’s performance as Trent drove the play home for me.
Club Black Widow was performed as part of the Cabaret Fringe Festival 2021 here in Adelaide which is held annually. It provides a platform for emerging and local artists to perform, with a focus on cabaret.
What’s next for the cast of Club Black Widow? Hopefully, we’ll see them in more upcoming performances in the local arts scene.
Rating: ★★★★
Club Black Widow - Cabaret Fringe Festival
Club Black Widow - Facebook Page
