Review: La Clique at Underbelly Depot Mayfield, Manchester ★★★★★
Rotheram’s finest vocalist supreme Myra Dubois headlines yet another unmissable edition of La Clique – this time atop Manchester’s Depot Mayfield.
La Clique | Underbelly Depot Mayfield, Manchester | Until 29 July 2023
The spiegeltent perched within spitting distance of Manchester Piccadilly’s Platform 14 may feel especially exposed to Manchester’s damper elements, but the sexy beating heart of La Clique ensures a sizzling night of entertainment.
Myra Dubois – all withering put-down’s and an epic rendition of a certain Eurythmics classic – may be the headline act, but there’s really no filler in this La Clique line up which once again proves to be the best cabaret circus night out in whichever town it visits.
LJ Marles delivers two piping hot aerial routines, the first leaning more towards cheeky humour, the second a darker, more intense affair.
Doing things with sharp objects that should, frankly, be illegal, Heather Holliday makes sword-swallowing sexy – she tosses incredible trick after incredible trick at a jaws-to-the-floor audience, with a glint in her eye and an abundance of ‘so what’ attitude.
Delivering the tunes, Chastity Belt’s (right) role feels perhaps a little light on stage time – but with Myra delivering her own pitch-challenging rendition of ‘Why’, there are fewer opportunities for a palate-cleansing musical interlude.
Challenging Dubois for the biggest audience reaction of the night is Sam Goodburn, whose geeky unicycling, biscuit-tossing and juggling form one of our favourite circus acts of recent years. Audiences never fail to warm to Sam’s kooky antics, and he has a real eye for picking out willing(-ish) audience members to participate in his act. Always a grandstanding crowdpleaser.
Oscar Kaufmann impresses with a Cyr wheel demonstration on La Clique’s tiny stage – his is a performance that feels genuinely risky, especially for those seated in the front rows. We love a Cyr wheel act, and to see one so close up is a real treat!
And then, Myra. What can we say about Myra Dubois that hasn’t been said before (in a court of law)? Well, look, it’s safe to say that award-winning exploits and TV appearances haven’t so much gone to her head a inflated this diva queen’s ego to genuinely planetary excess, and we could not be more here for it!
No-one has quite the audience-skewering quick wit and fearless rudeness that Myra displays with such assurance, and no-one ever delivered a worse vocal performance with such unshakeable confidence, brio and relish. La Clique & Myra Dubois are made for each other!
Catch La Clique in Manchester while you can – and then head to Edinburgh to catch this great show at the Fringe. You won’t regret it!
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like: nice pubs, film marathons, not doing real marathons, bad comedy, plays/musicals with shorter second halves, and the Oxford comma.
