{"id":5852,"date":"2009-12-20T11:12:16","date_gmt":"2009-12-20T09:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=5852"},"modified":"2010-01-18T11:36:38","modified_gmt":"2010-01-18T09:36:38","slug":"vaudeville-is-wonderville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/vaudeville-is-wonderville\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaudeville is wonderville!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Wow! wow! wow! What a show!\u00a0\u00a0 Bravo to the owners and cast of Vaudeville, who put on the most amazing show last night.\u00a0 Vaudeville has been described as “mischievous mayhem, eye candy and magical circus”, and features South African as well as international acts.<\/p>\n

Vaudeville opened a week ago, in an old\u00a0rubber factory\u00a0on Mechau Street (no one has heard of it – it is one street parallel to\u00a0Hans Strydom\u00a0Avenue, between Buitengracht\u00a0and Bree Streets) – and has been cleverly decorated to create a theatrical space with a stage, close to most tables, with cottonwool clouds, huge dangling\u00a0birdcages, VIP seating upstairs, for a R 40 premium per head for the view, with lots of red drapery\u00a0from the ceiling and red velvet curtains.<\/p>\n

Vaudeville was a popular form of entertainment in the USA and Canada from 1880 – 1930.\u00a0 “Each performance was made up of a series of unrelated acts grouped together on a\u00a0common bill”, says Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

The arrival booking checking was quick, a complimentary glass of bubbly presented to us as we walked through to the table,\u00a0 with two stilt walkers already evident in the entrance area – a lady in red with her French poodle, also on stilts.\u00a0\u00a0 The chairs are covered in red velvet, have an unusual design, and are most comfortable.<\/p>\n

A beautifully produced\u00a0folder contains the menu and winelist, and\u00a0allows for the replacement of its content\u00a0as the menu changes.\u00a0\u00a0 A French flair is immediately evident, with French-style music played.\u00a0\u00a0 One\u00a0large and a smaller\u00a0screen,\u00a0on opposite ends of the venue,\u00a0features non-stop movies, mainly in black and white.\u00a0 Whilst one\u00a0takes a seat\u00a0one senses a buzz, with waitresses in red bustier tops and black skirts serving the tables, offering drinks, and bringing the\u00a0starter.\u00a0\u00a0 A\u00a0bride who lost her husband at the altar roams around , looking very lost, a penguin shuffles along making appropriate penguin noises, and a showmaster looks for his cast, all building an excitement about the show to come.<\/p>\n

Rene is our hostess, and takes our main course order, a choice of three.\u00a0 She organises the drinks, is friendly, and obliges all our requests, including more paper to make notes of all we experience.\u00a0\u00a0 She worked at Madame Zingara, as did her GM Jennifer, who comes to say hello.<\/p>\n

The menu is simple, and relatively easy to cater for the 350 or so guests attending per show.\u00a0 The starter is a “house salad”, with mainly green leaves, the odd piece of beetroot, crumbled feta and avacado, as well as slices of ordinary bread and a meze platter of five dishes : yummy butternut and ricotta, olives, tzatziki, hummus, and aubergine.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The main course offers the choice of “free-range Namibian sirloin served with chunky potato wedges, roasted vegetables and a rich red wine jus”, a “ravioli of prawn and smoked paprika in a brandied lobster bisque with wilted baby spinach”, and “roast butternut, pea and lemon zest risotto with caramelised ginger and wild rocket”.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0These menu descriptions were an over-statement relative to the\u00a0food served, especially as far as the “sirloin” was concerned – while one expected a steak to be served, it was\u00a04 small slices of rare roast beef (we were told we could only have it served “medium-rare”) served on top of a collection of vegetables, and a container of tough unexciting “unchunky” potato wedges.\u00a0\u00a0 The vegetarian risotto was very bland, and was a poor compensation for non-meat eaters.\u00a0\u00a0 The dessert was billed as “adult fantasy platters with a selection of decadent sweet delights”, difficult to predict that it would be a colourful plate of shared biscuits, chocolate brownies, homemade marshmallows, cupcakes and meringues.\u00a0 No coffee at all is served, but they are working on this, says Rene. \u00a0 Only the “dessert” was in keeping with the differentness of the show and the venue – the starter and main courses did not reach the very high level\u00a0set by the outstanding show, and it felt as if they were saving money on the food offering\u00a0and putting it all into the show.\u00a0\u00a0 The catering is outsourced to DISH, a company doing in-home catering, not with the best reputation in town.<\/p>\n

The winelist is not very extensive, with two bubblies (Graham Beck at R 180\u00a0and Douglas Green at R 110), ten red wines range in price from R 95 for an unknown Ink Spot Vin Noir to R 550 for the Vergelegen Estate Red.\u00a0 Vergelegen supplies both the cheapest (Vin de Florence, at R 95) and most expensive (estate white, R 540) of the eight white wines.\u00a0 Two rose’s, and wines by the glass, are also offered.\u00a0\u00a0 No vintages are specified on the winelist.<\/p>\n

The Vaudeville show is divided into four sections, with food served in-between these.\u00a0 The show does not stop, with 19 acts ranging from trapeze artists on rings and ropes, dangling from the ceiling, jugglers, to acrobats on stage, to Tango dancers, singers and dancers led by Irit Noble, tapdancers, and an interesting band called Jinx\u00a0playing a “blend of circus Balkan and oompah” on Bass, saxophone\u00a0and violin, providing non-stop energy and excitement with fast-paced music, mainly with a French flair and incorporating swing music.\u00a0\u00a0 The show is slick, extremely professional, and must have about 30 performers in total.\u00a0 It felt to be world-class.\u00a0\u00a0 The movies run on the screens throughout the evening, so one has lots to see and enjoy.<\/p>\n

Upstairs in the building is the new Moroccan-themed Fez Club, to which one can enter for free if one has been to see the show.\u00a0 The Fez was a popular club in Cape Town, but closed down some time ago.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The cloakrooms are fun, with doors that make them look like little “Heidi-houses”, but are not in keeping with the rest of the interior design.\u00a0\u00a0 It felt warm inside, despite it being a coolish evening.\u00a0 One hopes that air conditioning will cool things down when it gets hotter.<\/p>\n

The owners are Tom Pearson-Adam and Robert Sawyer, with hotel\/entertainment interests, including the Fez Club,\u00a0in London.\u00a0 Together with the show producers Will Hutton, Andrew Florenca\u00a0and Dirk Vervaeke, their goal is to create the “most sought-after\u00a0nightspot in Cape Town”.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a quiet night out, then Vaudeville is not for you. You will leave the show energised, ready to dance and party the night away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vaudeville is open from Tuesdays – Saturdays, costs R 350 per head.\u00a0 Arrive at 19h00, the show ends at 22h30.\u00a0 To book call 0861SUPPER, www.vaudeville.co.za<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0 15 Mechau Street, off Buitengracht or Bree Streets.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a><\/p>\n

NOTE: A return visit three weeks after this review was written was a huge disappointment – read our latest review.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wow! wow! wow! What a show!\u00a0\u00a0 Bravo to the owners and cast of Vaudeville, who put on the most amazing show last night.\u00a0 Vaudeville has been described as “mischievous mayhem, eye candy and magical circus”, and features South African as well as international acts. Vaudeville opened a week ago, in an old\u00a0rubber factory\u00a0on Mechau Street […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,20,22,21],"tags":[3052,3054,32366,32378,306,3053,1696,3042,3048,32369,226,3043,3046,3047,303,3050,3041,3049,3040,3044,3045,32373,3055,3051],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t