Le Gateau Chocolat: Musicals Mayhem review – dazzling charisma and thundering sonic richness
Some Christmasses ago, Le Gateau Chocolat and Jonny Woo teamed up for a cabaret double act on musical theatre at this venue. Le Gateau Chocolat reprises that subject matter in a solo jukebox show that does not quite give us the promised mayhem, but does supply plenty of deep booming baritone notes and high sequined drag glitz.
It comprises a medley of show tunes, and a few sing alongs, strung together with no narrative beyond the songs. Some are half spoken, others acted with heart or hummed and mumbled, as if he is literally at home on stage, sipping from a mug, sitting stage-side. It feels like a warmup for Christmassy mayhem by the end of the hour: a minor key production by a major showman.
Still it is worth it for Le Gateau Chocolat’s charisma and thundering sonic richness that, at its best, leaves you dazzled and teary-eyed.
Dresses float and twinkle around him, like disembodied divas, on the set. They look like glamorous poltergeists, dazzling in orange, pink, white ruffs, sequins, taffeta. His drag drips with glamour too; he enters in an elaborate gown, gold trousers and jewelled platforms that look like mini jeeps. He is at his strongest when creating moments of musical fantasy, with four fans that work like a wind machine and extravagant costumes that suit the medium perfectly.
Among the songs are Cabaret, (Hey) Big Spender, a comically sung Let it Go from Frozen and Losing my Mind, turned into the disco beat recording of Liza Minnelli’s version with the Pet Shop Boys, while he twirls a ribbon in playful subversion. There is also a comical cat-themed segue from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Memory to recordings of Khia’s My Neck, My Back (“All you ladies pop yo’ pussy like this”) and Eye of the Tiger (“Another kind of feline,” he says).
But it is the serious stuff that brings the vocal highlights, such as a rendition of Walking in the Air, when he transforms into a gorgeously ornate silver snowflake and infuses the song with a majestic ache of emotion. And his ability to hold a note – so long it leaves “you” gasping for breath – seems extraordinary and effortless, however many times you have seen or heard it before.
• At Soho theatre, London until 11 January
