Latest news with #Sabrage
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Champagne, chaos and cheeks: Sabrage brings a naughty night of cabaret to London's Lafayette
A new circus-cabaret spectacle has arrived in London, setting up shop at Lafayette near King's Cross. Sabrage - which takes its name from the French tradition of opening champagne with a sword - pops the cork on an evening of daring feats, high-energy performances, debauchery and deliciously unhinged antics. Lafayette, best known for hosting gigs by the likes of Charli XCX, Olivia Dean and Dave, is a fitting backdrop. The venue's Nola's Bar drips with Parisian decadence, inviting audiences to sip on cocktails before being whisked away into the madness. The stage itself is intimate, bringing those who dare to come along right into the heart of the action. Directed by Scott Maidment, a maestro of circus cabaret who has toured his productions through 32 countries and previously worked with Madonna on her Rebel Heart tour, Sabrage incorporates both improvised chaos and carefully calibrated precision. 'We want it to feel chaotic and crazy, but there's a lot of technical precision that goes into making that happen. There's a lot of moving parts in the show. There's aerials, a lot of lighting, sound, dance - and everything needs to work together.' Maidment tells Euronews Culture. 'So the audience feels like it's chaos, but it's actually precision.' And precision there certainly is. The show brings together a small but undeniably talented cast of performers. There's jaw-dropping table-juggling wizardry from Emma Phillips, who trained in a remote Chinese village for two and a half years to master the art of spinning parasols and furniture on her feet. Flynn Miller and Kimberley Bargenquast mesmerise with a sensual aerial performance, while singer Rechelle Mansour keeps the mood sultry and electric. Christian Nimri zips around on roller skates, Skye Ladell seduces with her tantalising dance moves, and the unashamedly eccentric Spencer Novich contorts his body into comic frenzy during a mashup of sounds and snippets from across pop culture. Then there's Rémy Martin, whose abiltiies defy explanation... Let's just say his 'instrumental' performance involves some audience participation, some lube, and a microphone strategically placed near his private parts. Some things are best discovered in person. "I invented a special instrument, since I would say my birth. I'm the only one in the world using it as I use it. I don't wanna say more," he teased before the show. Maidment describes Sabrage as an experience designed for those looking for more than just a night at the theatre. 'People that come to our shows aren't necessarily theatre-goers,' he explains. 'They'll have a few drinks, see the show, maybe go out for dinner - it's a whole evening of entertainment. And once they see it, they often come back because they want their friends to experience it.' While Sabrage might not be everyone's cup of tea (or glass of bubbly), for those looking for a silly night of absurdity, acrobatics, and audacious fun, it's a ride worth taking. Check out footage from the circus-cabaret spectacle in the video above.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Champagne, chaos and cheeks: Sabrage brings a naughty night of cabaret to London's Lafayette
A new circus-cabaret spectacle has arrived in London, setting up shop at Lafayette near King's Cross. Sabrage - which takes its name from the French tradition of opening champagne with a sword - pops the cork on an evening of daring feats, high-energy performances, debauchery and deliciously unhinged antics. Lafayette, best known for hosting gigs by the likes of Charli XCX, Olivia Dean and Dave, is a fitting backdrop. The venue's Nola's Bar drips with Parisian decadence, inviting audiences to sip on cocktails before being whisked away into the madness. The stage itself is intimate, bringing those who dare to come along right into the heart of the action. Directed by Scott Maidment, a maestro of circus cabaret who has toured his productions through 32 countries and previously worked with Madonna on her Rebel Heart tour, Sabrage incorporates both improvised chaos and carefully calibrated precision. 'We want it to feel chaotic and crazy, but there's a lot of technical precision that goes into making that happen. There's a lot of moving parts in the show. There's aerials, a lot of lighting, sound, dance - and everything needs to work together.' Maidment tells Euronews Culture. 'So the audience feels like it's chaos, but it's actually precision.' And precision there certainly is. The show brings together a small but undeniably talented cast of performers. There's jaw-dropping table-juggling wizardry from Emma Phillips, who trained in a remote Chinese village for two and a half years to master the art of spinning parasols and furniture on her feet. Flynn Miller and Kimberley Bargenquast mesmerise with a sensual aerial performance, while singer Cherise Adams-Burnett keeps the mood sultry and electric. Christian Nimri zips around on roller skates, Skye Ladell seduces with her tantalising dance moves, and the unashamedly eccentric Spencer Novich contorts his body into comic frenzy during a mashup of sounds and snippets from across pop culture. Then there's Rémy Martin, whose abiltiies defy explanation... Let's just say his 'instrumental' performance involves some audience participation, some lube, and a microphone strategically placed near his private parts. Some things are best discovered in person. "I invented a special instrument, since I would say my birth. I'm the only one in the world using it as I use it. I don't wanna say more," he teased before the show. Maidment describes Sabrage as an experience designed for those looking for more than just a night at the theatre. 'People that come to our shows aren't necessarily theatre-goers,' he explains. 'They'll have a few drinks, see the show, maybe go out for dinner - it's a whole evening of entertainment. And once they see it, they often come back because they want their friends to experience it.' While Sabrage might not be everyone's cup of tea (or glass of bubbly), for those looking for a silly night of absurdity, acrobatics, and audacious fun, it's a ride worth taking. Check out footage from the circus-cabaret spectacle in the video above.
Euronews
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Champagne, chaos and cheeks: Sabrage brings a naughty night of cabaret to London's Lafayette
ADVERTISEMENT A new circus-cabaret spectacle has arrived in London, setting up shop at Lafayette near King's Cross. Sabrage - which takes its name from the French tradition of opening champagne with a sword - pops the cork on an evening of daring feats, high-energy performances, debauchery and deliciously unhinged antics. Lafayette, best known for hosting gigs by the likes of Charli XCX , Olivia Dean and Dave, is a fitting backdrop. The venue's Nola's Bar drips with Parisian decadence, inviting audiences to sip on cocktails before being whisked away into the madness. The stage itself is intimate, bringing those who dare to come along right into the heart of the action. Directed by Scott Maidment, a maestro of circus cabaret who has toured his productions through 32 countries and previously worked with Madonna on her Rebel Heart tour, Sabrage incorporates both improvised chaos and carefully calibrated precision. 'We want it to feel chaotic and crazy, but there's a lot of technical precision that goes into making that happen. There's a lot of moving parts in the show. There's aerials, a lot of lighting, sound, dance - and everything needs to work together.' Maidment tells Euronews Culture. 'So the audience feels like it's chaos, but it's actually precision.' Emma Phillips juggling a table during 'Sabrage' at London's Lafayette. Credit: Matt Crockett The cast of 'Sabrage' on stage at London's Lafayette Credit: Roy J Baron And precision there certainly is. The show brings together a small but undeniably talented cast of performers. There's jaw-dropping table-juggling wizardry from Emma Phillips, who trained in a remote Chinese village for two and a half years to master the art of spinning parasols and furniture on her feet. Flynn Miller and Kimberley Bargenquast mesmerise with a sensual aerial performance, while singer Cherise Adams-Burnett keeps the mood sultry and electric. Christian Nimri zips around on roller skates, Skye Ladell seduces with her tantalising dance moves, and the unashamedly eccentric Spencer Novich contorts his body into comic frenzy during a mashup of sounds and snippets from across pop culture. Then there's Rémy Martin, whose abiltiies defy explanation... Let's just say his 'instrumental' performance involves some audience participation, some lube, and a microphone strategically placed near his private parts. Some things are best discovered in person. "I invented a special instrument, since I would say my birth. I'm the only one in the world using it as I use it. I don't wanna say more," he teased before the show. Maidment describes Sabrage as an experience designed for those looking for more than just a night at the theatre. 'People that come to our shows aren't necessarily theatre-goers,' he explains. 'They'll have a few drinks, see the show, maybe go out for dinner - it's a whole evening of entertainment. And once they see it, they often come back because they want their friends to experience it.' While Sabrage might not be everyone's cup of tea (or glass of bubbly), for those looking for a silly night of absurdity, acrobatics, and audacious fun, it's a ride worth taking. Check out footage from the circus-cabaret spectacle in the video above.
The Guardian
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Sabrage review – this slick cabaret with saucy pillow fights is good unclean fun
If anything needs its own word, surely it's the ceremonial practice of opening a champagne bottle with a sabre. Happily the term exists, and this slick cabaret is named for it: Sabrage. Created by sometime Madonna collaborator Scott Maidment, it unites circus skills, comedy, lip-syncing and song into the kind of package that can nowadays be peddled for more than £60 a pop. For all that it continues to trade on its transgressive origins – the fishnets, the heaving flesh – cabaret burlesque is one of the most corporate artforms going. With a plucky eight-strong company throwing themselves joyfully at the material, Sabrage is a fine example of its genre. Group bookings up for a laugh, and a gasp, won't be disappointed. The two-hour show is hosted by double act Remi Martin and Spencer Novich, the one a sexy Frenchman performing Piaf tracks with his penis, the other a bendy American whose Lee Evans-alike physical comedy, scored to a mixtape of pop-culture soundbites and loud tunes, is a highlight. There's some filler. Martin's routine catching grapes in his mouth doesn't wholly merit the wild cheers of the first-night crowd – but then, tonight's crowd can't see a corset unbuttoned without seemingly losing their minds. Elsewhere, an audience member is invited on stage (please, no!) to mime wanking to a classical music soundtrack. The participation doesn't end there: the audience are squirted with water, showered with feathers as part of a saucy pillow fight, and have their champagne flutes filled by an airborne acrobat. That's all good unclean fun to submit to, as is the tightly choreographed bumping, grinding and stripteasing, lit and scored with booming basslines more redolent of MTV than the Kit Kat Club. Sometimes the skill and the cliched sexiness pull in different directions, as when juggler Emma Phillips spins parasols and wooden tables in the air with only her frantic tootsies – extraordinary feat/feet, but at odds with the sultry stylings all around it. Flynn Miller and Kimberley Bargenquast's erotic trapeze act is more on-brand. I can't promise Sabrage will pop your cork – but it's a very easy show to enjoy. At Lafayette, London, until 6 July
