Adelaide’s international award-winning cabaret star Anya Anastasia is back with Rogue Romantic at the Royal Croquet Club, a new show to follow the success of her incredible Torte E Morte: Songs of Cake and Death.
An eager crowd enters the Black Forest tent to see Anya already onstage, dramatically slumped over a piano, costume sparkling ever-so-slightly in the dim lighting. As the show starts and a seemingly sad Anya begins to sing about tears and glitter in her eye, the crowd listens in anticipation, waiting to be entertained by the sharp wit and fluid vocals we’ve come to know this cabaret artist for.
Anya serenades us with stories of her lost love and misplaced hope in an attempt to figure out why she hasn’t found her perfect man yet, and delves deep into the audience searching for the person who will make all her dreams come true. Her tales of woe are balanced out by moments of sheer madness and hilarity, showing us all that though sometimes we might be crazy in love, we all feel the same level of insanity when someone rejects us.
Supporting Anya through her tales of love and warfare are her three-piece band, Laurie Black on keys and backup vocals, Bec Matthews on percussion and Annie Siegmann on bass and backup vocals. Together they create incredible support for Anya, silently joining in on scenes when required, setting up props and keeping up musically with the emotional rollercoaster of songs.
For those who have seen Torte E Morte, Rogue Romantic falls short of being as dimensional as that incredible performance. Though mesmerising, Rogue Romantic can at times be a little repetitive, but we do enjoy watching Anya fall in love with various audience members again and again!
Anya is an extremely talented woman who knows how to charm an audience while simultaneously encouraging them to play a piano through her legs. This is a show for anyone who has known and lost love, best enjoyed with a bottle of wine and a table up the front for prime audience participation involvement.
We rate: ★★★ 3.5/5 stars
Image: arTour website