Review: 7 Mortal Sinners
Picture (L to R): 7 Mortal Sinners, Trent Charles, Miss Bubbles, Tiana Pinnell, Rachael Armstrong, Abbii Allora, Rachel Ray and Darcie Rae (Picture credit: Creative Futures Photography).
7 Mortal Sinners has to be one of the more unusual events I have ever attended in a church: a circus cabaret twirl through each of the ‘seven deadly sins’, interpreted by ‘seven mortal sinners.’ Hats off to St Andrew’s Uniting Church for hosting the show, and congratulations to Glitter Martini for presenting a very memorable ‘sermon.’
One of the many great things about Anywhere Festival is that artists and producers are encouraged to seek out new partnerships with venues other than traditional ‘black box’ theatres. Which means that some of the best Anywhere Festival shows I have seen are those where the show is developed in response to the space. Glitter Martini’s 7 Mortal Sinners circus cabaret was perfectly placed in the 1904 heritage-listed St Andrew’s Uniting Church.
Trent Charles was an excellent choice, staring as the compere ‘priest/host of the Church of Sin,’ Father Benedict Sylvester. Charles kept the show on the rails, introduced each of seven deadly sins that all good citizens should try to resist, gave the rest of the performers time to re-set the space where required, and made some serious points along the way. Great costumes and makeup coordinated to ensure we enjoyed every moment of the comic MC; chuckles and cheers throughout—although, perhaps strangely, the loudest laughs were for the toast throwing.
Darcie Rae (Glitter Martini's director and resident aerialist) was superb in both the opening lyra ‘Envy’ and later ‘Gluttony’ trapeze. Both pieces were fluid, with smooth transitions between powerful and difficult balance and holds. I particularly enjoyed the opening ‘Envy’ collaboration, performed as a duet with the floorwork of Tiana Pinnell. The duet communicated a powerful sense of the tension between the two performers, and a sense of a final overcoming of ‘the green eyed monster’ of jealousy when the two artists spun together, hanging from the lyra.
Picture: Trent Charles (Credit: Creative Futures Photography)
Picture: Bubbles (Picture Credit: Creative Futures Photography)
Picture: Rachel Ray’s ‘Wrath’ (Credit: Creative Futures Photography).
Rachel Ray’s silks act worked well as ‘Wrath,’ showing off the promised powerful and dynamic movements, smooth transitions, and great musical ‘interpretation’/response; an artists to look out for, as I’d certainly love to see that segment again. And the audience also loved Rachael Armstrong's powerful and controlled acrobalance, which included a colourful reference to ‘Pride’ with the use of the rainbow leotard. It was difficult to see some of the floorwork (unless you had managed to buy one of the ‘VIP’ front-pew tickets, but we could all see and admire the handstand canes balance work).
Abbii Allora’s hooping was fun, with great use of the LED hoops—and it was the first time I’ve seen topknot hooping. However, I wasn’t convinced that hoops conveyed the ‘Greed’ story as well as some of the other segments. In contrast, Pinnell’s solo dance ‘Sloth’ piece was a really great interpretation of ‘Sloth’ (complete with the audience-pleasing closing addition of the sloth head): funny, fluid, and fabulous dance moves on and around a chair (conserving energy in a suitable slothful way).
The team behind 7 Mortal Sinners had given great thought to ensuring that the audience were entertained, with a smattering of audience participation moments that included hula hoop throwing at a handstand ‘pole’ (Rachael Armstrong), toast throwing, and being a prop for Miss Bubble’s floor work (the show concluded with Miss Bubble’s suggestive interpretation of ‘Lust’). Consent was sought and given, and no bubbles appeared to have been harmed in this entertaining cabaret act. A good time was had by all.
Verdict: Glitter Martini’s 7 Mortal Sinners circus cabaret was perfectly placed in the 1904 heritage-listed St Andrew’s Uniting Church. A memorable sermon led by the entertaining Trent Charles.
Picture: Darcie Rae (Picture credit: Creative Futures Photography).
Audience information: 7 Mortal Sinners, Anywhere Festival, at St Andrews Uniting Church, 299 Ann Street, Brisbane City, QLD 4000 (7:30pm, 21 May, 2022). 16+, some coarse language, suggestive dialogue & limited sexual situations. Tickets: $35. 50 minutes.
The reviewer attended the Saturday 21 May (7:30pm) performance.
Picture Credit: Creative Futures Photography. A copy of this review first appeared on the Anywhere Festival website.