Are you in the mood to vamp it up and dine on divine cuisine? Then the Slide Cabaret and Bar’s latest production ‘Vampire Stories’ is the show for you.
Right from the start the mood for the night is set. Guests enter the venue greeted by the smiling fangs of a vampire, draped in chic gothic cloak and hood, who ushers them into his Transylvanian lair.
The tagline for this production is ‘Blood thirsty laughs come with gourmet meals’. During the night the host Claire de Lune (Slide’s host Marc Kuzma) introduces audiences to five sexy, twisted vampire stories that are performed on the large Slide stage. After each vignette Claire de Lune tantalizes the audience with his description of the latest of the five courses they are about to devour.
There’s plenty to captivate audiences both from both the stage and fine dining perspectives. On stage the treats are master illusionist Adam Mada, (just how does he keep his subject askew, in a horizontal position, on a straw broom?), the amazing flexibility of Australian pole dancing champions, Suzie Q and Stephen A Watson, the great work of trapeze artist Toby Manson, and the talented singers, Andreas Rhonner, Brendan Irving and Ruth Schaumann, who double up as waiters for the evening. Then there are, as well, a host of salubrious characters who appear on stage, including Lil, the mistress of the dark, vampire Lestat, and a seductive collection of gothic ladies and gentlemen.
The dining experience is exceptional with five great courses. The main courses included crumbed crabs, black widow toffee cobwebbed over soufflé, and quail with exquisite stuffing. There were two deserts, the first being a mix of orange sorbet, vodka and black caviar. The final desert, called ‘the brain hemorrhage’, featured a white chocolate brain with tiramisu , chocolate fudge and a huge syringe used to inject delicious lashings of raspberry sauce.
With the audience satiated by a delicious meal and a great show, the night ended in a celebratory mood with everyone, including all the waiting and kitchen staff coming on stage to ‘take a bow’.
This is conceptual cabaret theatre on a grand scale, full of ‘bon vivant’ and ‘grande l’ambience.’ ‘Vampire Stories’ plays the Slide Cabaret and Bar every Thursday night during April and May. The cost for the 5 course dinner and show is $80.