I caught up with Mitchell Butel’s zippy cabaret show KILLING TIME last night and the three time Helpmann Award winner was in great form.

Mitchell walked up to the mic looking very sharp, wearing a bright red suit with a narrow black tie and sharp black shoes. After a few songs he took off his jacket and slung it to the side of the stage.

He mixed up his show well … lots of great songs, plenty of one liners, some quirky personal anecdotes and obsessions, and revealed his passion for quotations and poetry.

Backed by a great jazz trio- piano, bass and drums- led by Darryl Wallis, he weaved his way through a great night of song. He weaved his way through the material from great old classics like The Way You Look Tonight through to Joni Mitchell’s Chelsea Morning to Dolly Partin’s Nine to Five.

There was plenty of variety from rocky numbers, to the deep down blues kind, to melting slow ballads. At times he brought together excerpts of songs as a medley which worked fine. As did Darryl Wallis’ arrangements.

My favourites- a lovely, wistful  delivery of the ballad- It’s a Lovely Afternoon– ‘Come spend this lazy afternoon with me’, and his rendition of the old classic- One More For The Road, made famous by Frank Sinatra. (Bette Middler does a great version of it too!).

Mitchell’s  zingy one liners were peppered through the show- – ‘I am wearing red, and working blue’, ‘I don’t need drugs anymore, I just stand up quickly’, ‘I only drink on two occasions, when I am with other people, and by myself’, ‘You can’t have everything, where would you put it’.

He referred to his journal of quotations in between some of the songs. The passing of time is a preoccupation. He has come to accept that he is now middle-aged- that’s how it is…He had a very funny anecdote about his 40th birthday party. Some of the quotes weren’t too cheery- ‘when you’re over the hill, you pick up speed’.

As well as quotations, he revealed a great love  of poetry, reading the opening lines from ‘Lullaby’ by  one of his favourite poets W.H.Auden. showing his literary and romantic sides. Well..the romantic side also comes through in his choice of songs!

How is Mitchell with the contemporary obsession for social networking? He does a good skit about internet dating and brings out his mobile phone, skimming it for his latest results on a site. ‘I have been blocked again! Well..everyone’s a critic! He joked about how he spends too much time on Facebook- ‘I’m a Facebook whore!’.

A very open, personal and warm cabaret show, KILLING TIME is playing one more night at the Hayes, tonight at 6,30pm, as part of the theatre’s current cabaret festival. The Hayes Theatre  is located at 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Potts Point.

For Bookings- http://www.hayestheatre. com.au/