The ballroom of the Trades Hall set with a few small tables surrounding an improvised stage was crowded in anticipation of Finucane and Smith’s cabaret.
There was an eclectic mix of performances that challenged the physical, the moral and social assumptions of the day.
A succession of performers teased with their routines; a stylistic striptease with gestures akin to oriental martial arts, an arrogant male stripper who turns out to be a woman, vocalists with phenomenal ranges and orifices used for unintended purposes.
The purpose of cabaret is to confront, subvert and challenge perceptions with Finucane and Smith being long term proponents of the art.
The evening did tend to linger a little longer than it should with the point of some of the latter items not being quite as clear.
And a word of warning, it may not be wise to sit too close to the stage. There was liquid in abundance necessitating the issuing of towels. Umbrellas were used but that was to protect the electrical equipment.
The notion of bringing the marginalised into the mainstream was perhaps an undercurrent of the evening but it was the anarchic fun that the audience came to see.
Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

• Review by David McLean