Regan Lynch Does It In Public
Brave, fruity, and fresh, Regan Lynch has made a cartwheel of a cabaret, in which he puts it all on display for a highly-amused audience (not a metaphor). Betty’ s Espresso is home to the beautiful queer darlings of West End, and makes for the perfect space to jam in 40-odd curious souls for an opening night that is full of razzamatazz and explicit tales of debauchery.
Peppered with gratuitous confessionals, Regan Lynch Does It In Public is deeply personal, yet remains irreverent enough to never be awkwardly uncomfortable. It’s a comedy, after all. If you don’t know all the queer jargon for sexual misadventures, you will by the end of this show. It’s got enough politics to be #legitart, but in true fringe arts fashion it is sarcasm-fueled satire that mocks mercilessly. Australia's very own last bastion of morality, the honourable Eric Abetz is the worthy target of much scorn, and there is a priceless moment that once seen, can never be unseen.
There are lots of good things about the Anywhere Festival, among them the opportunity for talented young things to test themselves before audiences and put on genuinely risky works. This is proper fresh and original cabaret, the kind that goes too far and is full of wit and joie-de-vivre and scandal and self-mocking and bad dance moves and whiskey and impromptu heckles and sing-a-alongs.
And it’s in an actual bar where you can relax and let your hair down. Bars are the spiritual home of cabaret, real cabaret, gritty, messy, tasty cabaret, not the be-sequinned cabaret-lite that passes for entertainment in the major venues. That’s the other good thing about this festival – you’re not asked to dress up or behave or ‘appreciate’ the art – just have a vino and laugh and see something new and fab. And then have another drink with the artist and his pals. There are no dressing room barriers here to separate artist from audience.
Regan dishes out his formative moments and his hero-worshipping reveries with equal measure, and it’s all good. He’s super charming, he’s easy to like. He sings, he dances, he gets his kit off. What's not to like. The show runs for the full three weeks of the Anywhere Festival. Get a ticket. Go tomorrow. Take a date. Or find one. This would be the PERFECT tinder date. If you want to go all the way…
If he asks for a volunteer, I highly recommend putting your hand up quick. It looks like a lot of fun. Just saying.
Image: Torrey Atkin.
