In many ways, cabaret is the most intimate of art forms. Even when they’re performing in large theatres and concert halls, the best cabaret artists successfully craft a sense of connection between themselves and you, the audience, which not only breaks the fourth wall but demolishes it completely – all with a song and a smile.
With Adelaide Cabaret Festival now in full swing, we asked several of the Australian artists performing at the Festival this year for their thoughts on the importance of intimacy in their performances and how they create such a bond with audiences. Here’s what they had to say:
How important in cabaret is a sense of intimacy between an artist and their audience?
Natalie Abbott (Bad Hand, 18-19 June, Banquet Room, Adelaide Festival Centre): “I think it’s one of the most important elements – not just in cabaret, but in live performance as a whole. As a performer, that feeling of the audience going with you at every turn is pretty magical. And as an audience member, when you feel like you’re getting a glimpse into the artist’s soul – that is incredibly intimate and it requires a lot of trust between audience and performer.”
Bobby Fox (Mr Entertainment, 14-15 June, Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre): “Absolutely vital, even in the most boisterous of shows. Cabaret is the gateway between private and public. It’s a broad umbrella of interpretation, but it’s at its most powerful when it’s personal. You can’t be personal without authenticity. Intimacy is part of the bravery needed to reveal your authentic self.”
Trevor Jones (Dr Trevor Jones – Piano Man, 12-15 June, 19-21 June, Quartet Bar, Adelaide Festival Centre): “For me, cabaret is all about intimacy and, more importantly, connection. It’s what separates cabaret from theatre – the audience feel a part of it and they are experiencing an artist being honest, authentic and vulnerable – and ideally opening themselves up to the same honesty and authenticity. Cabaret should feel like a safe space for everyone and the performer and the environment create that. Of course, that intimacy takes a huge range of forms – whether it be drinking and singing along with strangers in a late night piano bar, being swept up in the joy of a disco medley with feathers and sequins, or being moved to tears by a vulnerable story. That’s what cabaret is, so the intimacy is essential to the art form.”
Read: Sequins, champagne and passion: Adelaide Cabaret Festival launches its 2025 program
Tomas Kantor (Sugar, 14-15 June, Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre): “There’s a sense of communion and convergence between performer and audience that is very unique, intimate and powerful in confessional cabaret. Walls come down and you can feed audiences concepts in new, unexpected ways: camp it up, take it off and get sexy, explode into song, eviscerate with biting commentary, sucker punch with some well-timed poignancy amidst the madness. By making the audience your confidant, you invite them to care deeply about you and what you’re saying. So even, or especially, when covering ground that might feel taboo, the previously unspeakable or unimaginable becomes personal. We look into each other’s eyes and lock in, we’re in this together. We have permission to laugh and cry from the first utterance. It’s very human.”
How do you personally create that sense of intimacy and connection in your own performances?
Natalie Abbott: “I’m not too sure – I think I try to create that intimacy by being as genuine and present as I can in that moment. That connection to song, to lyrics and to what I’m trying to say is key. Audiences are extremely perceptive and can sense when something isn’t truthful. It’s a fine line when you’re acting as a character, that’s why cabaret is so intimate and raw.”
Bobby Fox: “Outside of the incredible technical teams at play in every given moment this is all done through trust. You demonstrate to the audience that you have nothing but respect for their patronage and time by bringing the best of yourself – but throughout the performance revealing the deeper and more personal meaning of why you are here. Not only through the celebration of the material, but the personal cost it takes to be present. It sounds a little indulgent, but when this is recognised in some small way before or during [a performance], it shares a deeper personal connection, which is the definition of intimacy.”
Trevor Jones: “In the late night piano bars, it’s all about intimacy and connection. Whether it’s by wandering through and chatting to audience members before and after the show starts, or by making eye contact with as many people in the room, or by raucously encouraging people to sing along, or by raising my glass whenever there’s a key change, or by taking people’s requests and calling out their names, or introducing my guests with personal anecdotes of how we know each other and encouraging them to feel comfortable to have a chat, or by spontaneously telling my own stories on a microphone as though I was at a dinner party that just happens to be attended by hundreds of my friends. Laughing, singing, drinking, sharing…
“I try to lower the stakes so there is as little differentiation between the stage and the audience as possible. I laugh about mistakes. I try requests that I may have never tried before. I try to make everyone feel as welcome and capable as possible.”
Tomas Kantor: “I’m not afraid to expose myself (in every sense) – silliness, vulnerability, body, soul. By baring myself, my flaws and my ego, audiences feel safe to lean in, they feel the authenticity, they feel free to play with me, and interrogate themselves and the world in the process. You let people in by letting it all hang out! Also, setting expectations and keeping the form engaging is very important. I need to first be super clear about the story I’m telling: why am I telling it, why now, who’s this for, what does it mean to me? And then, explode that baby open with everything I’ve got – song, dance, musicianship, character, comedy, pathos, a bit of audience interaction. Keeping your audience engaged and surprised is the fun of cabaret.”
Is it challenging to create a sense of intimacy in a larger venue, and are there any special tricks you have to build such intimacy that you could share with us, please?
Natalie Abbot: “I think as an audience member you can feel a certain level of disconnection in a larger venue when you’re sitting further away. Something that I make sure I do, in a larger venue, is engage with all corners and levels of the space, so everyone feels seen and included, not just the front few rows. And then I just hope that I’ve done a good job, haha!”
Bobby Fox: “Yes and no. Experience is a bonus, but the power of the live/living performer onstage with lighting, direction, cadence and talent all contribute equally when it comes to scaling this hurdle. Authenticity is the most powerful force in performance. It’s not something that can be articulated exactly, but it can be felt in an instant. The honesty and technical elements all contribute to this reaching the capacity of the space.”
Trevor Jones: “It can be tricky when there are so many people in the audience and some are so far away. I make sure my eyeline always connects with people in the back as much as possible – it’s too easy to just deliver to the front tables. Sometimes I look up and pretend to make eye contact with imaginary people just so others feel connected – I can’t always clearly see the people far away, but I try to keep my focus there regardless. I turn to take in as much of the audience as I can at all times – especially if it’s between songs when I’m not as tied to the piano and microphone. I try to make sure the lighting in the bar doesn’t feel too dark. There’s a fine line in a piano bar type environment – if it’s too dark, it becomes a performance, if it’s too light, people feel too exposed to sing along and let their inhibitions go.”
Tomas Kantor: “Eyes are a storyteller’s secret weapon, they’re portals, and mine will be big and twinkly. Wield them with care and direction and you can fill any space with magic!”
Adelaide Cabaret Festival runs until 21 June 2025. Visit the Festival website for show dates and details.
This article was updated after publication, at 1:51pm on Friday 13 June, to include responses from Tomas Kantor.
