EastEnd Cabaret: The Revolution Will Be Sexual

Eastend Cabaret: The Revolution Will be Sexual. Photograph: Laura Oliver

The newly constructed Arcola Tent is currently in the process of assuming its own, original identity. The Tent is set to boast a diverse range of programming, which this month includes a series of performances by highly acclaimed local duo EastEnd Cabaret.

Bernadette Byrne and Victor Victoria introduce narratives about sex, relationships and unrequited love and invite audiences to share their own stories, giving their performances a rare intimacy.

Doors will open at 7.30pm, and the audience are encouraged to relax, converse and drink mulled wine at their leisure, as the cabaret characters mill about amongst them. The performance begins at 8.30pm and when it’s finished the crowd is welcome to remain in the immersive experience, indulging in the responses and reactions the duo have provoked.

At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival earlier this summer, EastEnd Cabaret proved that the show was truly improvised, changing it with every performance.

For their Hackney shows, the lewd lyrics to their songs will undergo further alterations. Remembering their time in Edinburgh, Byrne says: “The fact that we were nominated for a Total Theatre Award was huge because cabaret has not been recognised by these types of institutions.” The company believe they are the first cabaret act to be nominated for the award, and this nomination comes in the first year that cabaret was recognised as a separate genre within the Fringe programme.

The show, say the duo, incorporates some of what the East End represents. “We live in East London,” says Victoria. “In a bedsit,” adds Byrne.

“Together. So we’re very familiar with East London,” Victoria says.

“We spent a lot of time working in bars, in Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club,” Byrne explains. “We’re actually planning on squatting in the tent in November. Just to get used to the space. Although Arcola may not know that so don’t tell them,” she adds with a mischievous smile.

Victoria is very clear in describing why local theatre lovers should see the show. “They will definitely be entertained and they will be amused and possibly quite aroused as well.” The pair promise music and dirty songs, accompanied by piano, violin, musical saw, ukulele and perhaps even a kazoo.

A semi-political element is also present within the performance, embodied by a peculiar prop. “Mr Little Red Book is our special guest. He is very wise. I was given him as a child by my father. He is Mao’s little red book and he has a moustache and a personality.”

EastEnd Cabaret tell me that they met many years ago and performance has always played a big part in their relationship. Byrne says: “We have known each other since we were very small. And then I left.”

“And I followed you,” says Victoria. “We have always, even since we were children, sung songs together,” reveals Byrne. “In our bedsit, drinking tea out of an old dirty sock, we decided it was time we gave it to the people. That was about a year and a half ago now.”

Tom Velvick, Creative Director of EastEnd Cabaret, said: “We are proud of what we can give to East London and, as East London has shaped the show, we hope it’s something the people of Hackney can be proud of”.
The duo take great pride in the unpredictable nature of their show and the fact that local people can add to it.

“It evolves every time we do it”, they say. “It’s always about the people. We love that our show depends on having a little conversation with the audience.

“People change the show every night. We’d like it to grow and take on its own momentum. Join the revolution because it’s the most fun you’ll have in a tent…ever!”

EastEnd Cabaret: The Revolution Will Be Sexual
16-19 and 24-26 November
The Arcola Tent
Ashwin Street E8 2BS
020 7503 1646