#EdFringe- Reuben Kaye – Review

★★★★★

Lost souls and warm holes, assemble to worship at the altar of Reuben Kaye: cabaret queen with devilish humour and charm and an incredibly well written, slick show of dirty jokes and naughty pokes, incredible storytelling and mind blowing vocals.

This is still the same show I saw before in Melbourne, but that by no means makes it less perfect. All the jokes still land, the sound is still phenomenal, and he will still lick your phone on camera if you use flash photography. The show pushes the boundaries of the audiences tolerance by making darker and dirtier jokes, combined with his extraordinary storytelling, recounting his beautiful family story, tales of him growing up and coming out, and as he famously says he is what happens when you tell your kids they can be anything they want, not loved enough as a child but not slapped enough as an adult. He’s unashamed, unapologetic, and brilliant.

For his final show at Edinburgh Fringe, the energy is insane, and the mood in the room can only be described as feral levels of excitement. That gorgeous voice is still flying between jazzy, rock and roll, smooth and sultry and always powerful. He belts harder and higher than ever in this final night show, and his cover of Iggy Azaelia’s ‘Fancy’ is one of the greatest moments of the show.  

 But for all his devilish humour and bad boy of cabaret vibe, he is all heart- he greets all the attendees and fans at the door and after the show, and opens his show by thanking every member of staff, crew and band on his final performance.

I honestly think I was a better, more attentive writer and much less of a hyped up drunken fan girl in Melbourne than I was in Edinburgh, shrieking with delight as he straddled a friend of ours and seduced him with Sailor Boys by Charles Aznavour, so for a really well balanced view of the show from a year ago, though with some changes, read my original gushings over his face, his voice, his outfits.

I’d like to make special mentions to my laugh, mentioned as ‘Could open a garage door in Leith’, and to my friend’s laugh as ‘One half of the opening scene of Macbeth’, and to the insane energy in the room for one final night of glory. Australia’s greatest export since Vegemite and Kylie and Jason.  

 Find out where Reuben is touring next – https://www.reubenkaye.com/

Follow him on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theoriginalrubykaye/