Tone & Cheek bring a world of seductive delights to Fringe with two sizzling shows

After sell-out performances across the country, Tone & Cheek Productions return to Fringe World this summer with two sizzling shows. Kicking off their Fringe season in 2024, Happy Endings, is an adults-only journey that explores classic fairytales through the guise of a reality dating show, featuring a fanciful fusion of circus, burlesque, dance, and live music, at The Vault at The Pleasure Garden from Friday, January 19 to Sunday, January 28. Audiences are then invited to step back into legendary French brothel Club D’Amour for a flirtatious fusion of dance, burlesque, circus, and live vocals with Club D’amour: Back Door, showing at The Vault at The Pleasure Garden from Tuesday, January 30, to Sunday, February 18. BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with Tone & Cheek’s Dan Bruce to find out why audiences can expect to leave their shows questioning their sexuality, covered in glitter, and with a belly sore from laughter.

It’s great to have the Tone & Cheek troupe back at Fringe this summer with not one, but two shows! What kind of year was 2023 for the team, and what are you excited about for the coming Fringe season?

Last year was huge for us. It was our second Fringe World Festival, and you hope audiences want to come back again, but we were amazed at the response and the number of sold-out shows. It was an incredible way to kick off the year. From there, we tackled Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne Drift Festival, and Joondalup Festival, and rounded out the year with a sell-out season at The Rechabite to say goodbye to our first show, Club D’Amour.

I hear that while Club D’amour: Back Door is an all-new show, there might be some familiar faces. And some new ones? How is it different from what we might have experienced last year?

Joining us in the new show are our co-producer and choreographer Nat Oakes, multi-award-winning drag superstar Fay Rocious, Mx Burlesque 2022 Champion and 2023 Proud Awards Entertainer of the Year Matthew Pope, STAR Awards Showgirl of the Year Melina Mall, and vocal powerhouse Amber Scates. Joining us for the very first time are award-winning interstate performers Christian Nimri (QLD), Alfie D’Elia (VIC), and Saint Eve (NSW).

Club D’Amour was the origin of Tone & Cheek Productions, and it was the first time we had worked together as both producers and cast. The original show was created on a shoe-string budget with a limited timeframe and big aspirations. We had been booked to perform six shows, and as producers, we hoped that we would sell enough tickets to at least breakeven. After six consecutive sold-out nights, we added four more shows across the Fringe World season, which again went on to sell out.

Now, with a few years of experience under our belt and the confidence to financially invest in the business, Club D’amour: Back Door is the show we always wanted to create, had budget, experience, and skills not been determining factors in what we were able to deliver. This brand-new show is packed full of innovative circus performances, jaw-dropping group dance numbers, comedy, burlesque, live performances, amazing costumes, and, of course, a brand-new custom-built set.

For those who haven’t paid the Club a visit yet, what other seductive delights can we find at The Vault at The Pleasure Garden this summer?

Club D’Amour: Back Door is a flirtatious fusion of dance, drag, burlesque, circus aerials, and live vocals. Every Tone & Cheek show is created with that ethos; that is, if you could see one show at Fringe, this should be it! Basically, everything people love about fringe is all packed into the one show. It’s equal parts sexy, sensual, and stupid.

Club D’amour: Back Door follows a gay couple hoping to spice up their relationship by exploring what the club has to offer. Audiences will follow this journey of exploration and receive an up-close and personal education on the kinks, fetishes, and fantasies of Club D’amour with our Madame, Fay Rocious, holding your hand along the way.

Your other show, Happy Endings, puts an adults-only twist on some well-known fairy tales. How do people respond when they experience the stories of their childhood in such a different light?

Happy Endings introduces audiences to a number of iconic fairytales; however, our show focuses on the darker and hidden themes, and in true Tone & Cheek style, we add a bit of campery and sensual narrative. This is all explored through the guise of a reality dating show. Audiences can expect to see a sexy side to Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Bears, Puss in Boots, Prince Charming, and, of course, our bachelorette, Red Riding Hood, and the show’s host, The Big Bad Wolf.

Both of these shows are brought to us by Tone & Cheek Productions. What is the story behind the group, and what kind of experiences do you hope to create for your audiences?

Tone & Cheek Productions was established in 2021 and is a creative partnership between Natalie Oakes, Liam Guiney, and Dan Bruce. Our combined experience of over 20 years within the performing arts, events, and Fringe environment made this the perfect match for developing and producing successful live productions.

We started as the ‘little local show that could’ but our aim was always to shock, surprise, and push the boundaries to develop and deliver innovative and entertaining productions, all with the motto—dirty, debaucherous, and downright delicious! We hope audiences leave any Tone & Cheek production questioning their sexuality, covered in glitter, and with a belly sore from laughter.

What’s the most memorable way you’ve heard someone describe a show?

Ever since the very first preview of Club D’amour, we have received an overwhelming response from our audiences and reviewers. As queer people ourselves, we always try to create stories that put queer characters at the forefront of the narrative. One reviewer in Adelaide included this quote, which was a perfect reflection of what we set out to leave audiences with: “The show is a celebration of love in all its forms, not only passion and seduction but self-love and acceptance. Whether you’re quiet, queer, questioning, or otherwise, Club D’Amour celebrates all people from all walks of life.”

Whether you are coming to a Tone & Cheek show as a queer person, on a girl’s night out, with a group of the lads, or with your parents, there is something for everyone! Every show we build caters to a wide demographic, and it has been amazing to see intergenerational love for our shows. The thing that remains consistent is the smile on people’s faces and the joyous applause from the crowd.

What’s next for the rest of 2024 and beyond? Any plans to take these shows to new and exciting places this year?

As soon as Fringe World finishes, we are off to Adelaide Fringe for a three-week season of both shows, followed by a two-night-only special shadow cast production of Cabaret at Joondalup Festival (March 21–22), and then we launch our brand-new show, Tuck Shop, in partnership with Artrage at Rooftop Movies for the month of April. It’s going to be a fun and adventurous 2024, with a lot more on the cards yet to be announced.