Mark Storen's A Drunken Cabaret
The Tuxedo Cat
Until Sat 1 March


I'm fairly sure that Mark Storen started a marketing degree but then ditched it for a sharehouse in Newtown and a career in musical theatre. He would have been the insanely gifted performer in high school whom all the kindly old art teachers fussed over as their 'favourite', bless his cotton socks. If only they could see him in full tour de force performance mode for his one-man show, 'A Drunken Cabaret'.
This is the kind of Fringe show you ought to see if you crave a bit of old school DIY music/movement/comedy/tragedy with no budget and a heap of passion on the side. Storen takes his audience on a schizophrenic journey through the more macabre side of love that most acts touch upon, but rarely present with such clever thoughtfulness. The general theme of 'love gone wrong' permeates his impressive array of original musical arrangements that deal with everything from the Red Barrn's crazed Brazilian lover to couples killing their parents. A simple set of heart-shaped fairy lights adds to the intimate and artsy atmosphere that the Fringe is renowned for, setting the perfect minimalist backdrop for Storen to transform into his many personalities and wax lyrical about love, life and monkeys.
Although the audience consisted of a few wet blankets who didn't seem to approve of Storen's brand of philosophical bawd (you heard it), Storen was the consummate professional and gave the (mediocre) crowd of 50-something moralists his utmost. Give him your 10 bucks and watch him flower.

Steph Mountzouris