La Clique, on its fourth fringe run, is a sideshow revue that prides itself on conjuring up something kitsch, louche, freaky, funny and irresistibly entertaining, all in a couple of hours. Staged in the Famous Spiegeltent, it is a word-of-mouth phenomenon that has risen from the underground to become a sell-out hit.
David Bates, co-creator of La Clique, staged the first version of the show in 2002 as a raunchy late-night vaudeville act in Melbourne, Australia, and has watched it swell in popularity ever since.
“We offer all the thrills and theatrical satisfaction of a circus or cabaret show, but in this intimate venue,” says Bates, who also owns the Famous Spiegeltent.
“There’s a small stage inside, and strippers and dancers are practically touching the audience. You wouldn’tget that atmosphere in, say, a 2,000-seat venue in Las Vegas.”
Bates scours the cabaret theatres of Germany, the travelling circuses of Russia and the fetish clubs of London to find the best artists for his show. The line-up is a bit like a “greatest hits” compilation.
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His standards are high, and although La Clique is a “non-star vehicle”, the performers must be at the top of their game.
Among the artists on this year’s bill are: roller-skating double act the Skating Willers, who have appeared in the Royal Variety Performance; contortionist Gyulnara Karaeva, who has appeared with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, and hula-hooper Viktoria Lapidus, who trained with the Moscow State Circus.
“Sometimes these guys have a brilliant six-minute act, a perfect piece,” says Bates. “They could try to spin it out to an entire festival show, but I’d rather they dazzled the crowd in a showcase of brief but highly skilled performances. I want them to take people’s breath away.”
La Clique is not aimed at the mainstream, and credits its audience with a certain open-mindedness and sense of humour. In the spirit of burlesque, the acts often take a slightly naughty, subversive look at modern culture, bringing something surprising to a hackneyed art form.
The recent flurry of “new circus” and “new burlesque” acts worldwide has not gone unnoticed by Bates, but he thinks his show distinguishes itself by bringing together first-rate performers and rubber-stamping them with La Clique’s seal of approval. Done properly, the acts should go beyond titillation and provide a playful, tongue-in-cheek exploration of sexuality, social mores and modern values.
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“Obviously, nipple tassels and fishnets do feature quite heavily in La Clique,” says Bates.
“But it’s hard to find any of the acts sleazy when you see the aplomb and humour they’ve got. Traditionally, burlesque was meant to challenge social norms. The political satires in cabaret clubs in Berlin in the 1930s got people arrested.”
The show’s producers have been spoilt for choice. “We get bombed with offers from artists dying to appear in the show,” says Bates. “It’s a great sign. But the kind of acts I’m looking for need to be a bit weird or have a political consciousness, be incredibly confronting, taboo-breaking or dangerous, but still create something palatable and thrilling at the same time.”
La Clique is at 11.30pm at the Famous Spiegeltent until Aug 28