Deep in the Forest: A Cautionary Cabaret

Some of you know it was my birthday last week. I turned the not-so-big 26. We always like to do something really fun (who doesn’t?) so this year I decided to go see a local show. The Auckland Fringe Festival is on this week and there are tons of little, avant garde performances and slightly-off-the-wall plays showing, but the one I chose was “Deep in the Forest: a Cautionary Cabaret“.

Deep in the Forest

The performance explored the dark side of fairy tales through cabaret. “Once upon a time, fairy tales had bite. Magical forests were populated by beasts with a gleam in their eye, & enchanted kingdoms had folks with some wicked ways! Deep in the Forest: A Cautionary Cabaret, will get the blood pumping through the veins of the Brothers Grimm; Hans Christian Andersen will be wearing a cheeky grin. Besides, when your nursery is The DUST PALACE & nanny is played by PETIT CHEVAL, you know it’s not a boring story-time. So, boys & girls, grab your mug of hot coco & snuggle up to your cuddly. Your bedtime stories are about to begin.”

So, I booked nearly 30 tickets for friends – we took up the entire area at the front of the stage. The venue – Cassette Number Nine – were doing a dinner special ticket including a wood fired pizza, so we all opted for that. We met up for drinks first at a favorite pub of ours – the Bluestone Rooms, who do a rather impressive ‘beer tower”, which I’m sure many of you would love. After an hour or so of drinking and chatting, we trooped up to Vulcan Lane to Cassette.

Having never been to this club/bar before – and being generally a bit derisive of the local “hip” spots – I could not believe how rad this place was. The bar has a real kitschy vibe, with decadent mirrors interspersed with Chesterfield booths and sumptuous colors (I think). My table had a doodad that hung over the side so I could hang my bag on it. The bar staff were dressed to kill, and Tom, a particularly fabulous dude who happens to be the flatmate of my friend Liz, made me birthday cocktails and a shot that he covered in cinnamon and set on fire.

You can also buy “teapots” – coctails inside teapots that you can share with everyone at your table. The flavours of these teapots are out of this world!

We were meant to eat dinner in the hour and a half before the show. Unfortunately, one of their chefs called in sick, and they could only fit a limited amount of pizzas in the oven at once. My table was lucky – we got ours before the kitchen went into gridlock. But some of our other tables didn’t get theirs till 10pmish. The staff, however, dealt with the problem as best they could. They smiled, they apologized, they gave out tons of free drinks – and despite waiting a long time, every one in our group had a fab time … and the pizzas were delicious.

Finally, the show kicked off. With dancers from The Dust Palace Troupe & Petit Cheval Burlesque, we were treated to a great night of cabaret. Having seen an extremely tight production of the musical Cabaret only a few months ago, I admit this didn’t have quite the same style. However, to their credit, they put on a great show – I was especially taken by the “belle and the beast” dance, and the “little match girl”, burning pieces of her clothing to stay warm. Oh, and goldilocks and the angle-grinder. That was quite something.

All my friends dressed up in their favorite corsets, dresses and man-skirts, Amy and Kelli made Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White costumes (which actually looked better than some of the costumes in the show). We chatted about bullshit for hours, and some people ignored my insistence on not buying presents and brought me some amazing things (an orange teapot with black cats on it, a David Gemmel book, a metal cuff, a cross necklace, an amazing pastel drawing by my friend Andy, and a red miniskirt). I saw some friends I haven’t seen in YEARS, and got to catch up with everyone and had lots of hugs.

It’s nights like these that make you appreciate what you have. I may not be rich, or a published novelist, I may not be living in Germany, which is what I really wanted to do this year. We may not be able to afford to buy land in this ridiculous housing market, but I actually DO live in a vibrant city full of keen artists, and I have the coolest husband and the most amazing friends. Sometimes, it’s not what you’re doing, but who you share the adventure with, that matters. At 26, I’ve done some amazing things, and I’ve got so many years ahead of me to do even more. Thanks everyone, for being awesome, for reading the blog, and for … just being awesome. Thanks!