Boom Boom in the House of Casa Blah Blah @ The Rechabite
Thursday, November 7, 2019
The grand reopening and much anticipated resurgence of iconic William Street venue ‘The Rechabite’ Hall was revealed with a fitting tribute to our city by local production company Strut & Fret. A bespoke party fitting for the new queen in Perth’s destination royal crown.
The Rechabite is positively stunning. The grandiose stone steps are not unfamiliar to Perth folks, albeit as a source of curiosity as they traverse William Street wondering why this beautiful building was empty for so long. This is where some of the OG Fringe founders stepped in and breathed life once more into this baby with a phenomenal resurrection of their conception. Notably, the original Rechabite’s Hall was erected in 1925 by the Independent Order of Rechabites, a society which promoted abstinence from alcohol. Oh lord, if they could see her now! It is anything but.
Featuring a fabulous foyer offering multiple directions in which to explore beyond just the invitingly decadent winding staircase before you, there’s a bar full of delicious cocktails to the right and Double Rainbow, an Asian inspired bar and eatery to the left. Illuminated artworks adorn the walls, and it is comfortably inviting with a mouth-watering menu.
Alternatively, you can head deep down south to the basement dive bar, or head to the second floor to a cute respite during intermission, but the jewel is on the rooftop at Hello. Offering cocktails and the ultimate summer party location, Rechabite is a queen. And she offers accessibility, honey! Glassed lift to all floors.
In such sumptuous surrounds, one expects the best. And Strut & Fret largely delivered, with a mix of glitter festooned dance, slapstick clowning, and aerial acts which fully utilised the three floors of space available to them.
Standouts include a dangerously sensual aerial act on a suspended hatstand, whereby a semi dressed man literally hangs from the skin of his teeth and the threads of his tailoring.
Perth legendary queen of Briefs fame, Louis Biggs, does the body good and his Briefs mamas proud, his pedigree blatantly obvious in every moment as he owns the stage. And a stunning quadruple Chinese pole act was both playful and truly impressive.
Strut & Fret delivered their slick and carefully curated best. As always, the performers selected are at the top of their game, but not always pushed hard enough to stretch their talents. There is so much more to these artists, who were underutilised in moments, as pretty as those moments were.
While beautifully choreographed, there could have been more room for creative expression so the artists could get wild and weird and explore their art. The choreographed posturing by Jess Mewes of pulling her middle finger at the crowd was misplaced and a bit odd, especially from such a brilliant performer. The MC was heteronormative and frankly a little dull in his attempts at blue humour.
Perhaps a little too much filler and not enough thriller, but more than worth it to see Perth’s newest destination in all her sparkly glory as an aerobics style pre-Fringe warm up.
NATALIE GILES
Boom Boom in the House of Blah Blah is on until December 21 at The Rechabite and tix are available HERE.
