ROUGE REVIEW @sydneyspiegeltent

Sydney Spiegeltent has launched its sizzling new summer show Rouge, an adults-only circus and cabaret spectacle at Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park.

Rouge is 90 minutes of naughty but nice, blending opera, cabaret, acrobatics and circus – plus a bit of nudity, set in the fantastic surrounds of this amazing timber and glass Spiegeltent.

It already has well-deserved accolades, including Best Circus at 2020 Adelaide Fringe, and has been performed to good reviews at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe.

While if claims to break down the barriers of sexuality, and male, female and non-binary cliches, it’s mainly about the acrobatic skills of its scantily clad performers with some of the more risque aspects merely an addendum to the whole show. 

Unlike L’Hôtel, at Sydney Opera House last year, there is no real thread to this story which combines very physical performances with a bit of burlesque  and some partial female and full male nudity played for laughs rather than dramatic effects. There is also plenty of sexual innuendo and implied sex, thus the “circus for adults” classification. 

There are standouts, including the opera arias – one sung mostly upside down – plus the soundtrack and the agility of the performers in a tight space.

And while not quite a big top, the intimacy of the Spiegltent space allows for up close and personal – although not intrusive – connection with the audience.  

Until December 17, www.sydneyspiegeltent.com