DUSTY LIMITS
Mashina Lounge, Christchurch Casino, Christchurch
16/01/2014 - 25/01/2014
World Buskers Festival 2014 | SCIRT
Production Details
Dusty Limits, also known as Dorian Black, is a singer,comic, compere and one of the leading lights of the ‘new cabaret’ scene. Time Out, which featured him as a cover model in their special edition on the resurgence of cabaret, described him as ‘The Trailblazer,’ and he has surprised and thrilled audiences from London to New York, Dublin to Berlin with his three-octave vocal range and darkly scintillating wit.
He sings everything from Cole Porter to Portishead, often with the words changed, as well as his own original songs that deal with themes of mortality, addiction and the futility of love. Usually for laughs.
16-25 Jan
Cabaret at Mashina Lounge
9.30pm (following An Hour of Magic with Paul Nathan at 7.30pm)
60 mins
http://www.worldbuskersfestival.com/busker-cabaret-@-mashina-lounge
Cabaret ,
Irreverent songs of love, lust, loss (at least of innocence), family and death
Review by Elizabeth O’Connor 23rd Jan 2014
Shamelessly narcissistic and endearingly outrageous, this guy delivers the goods – sorry, but after an hour in his company, the most innocent turn of phrase becomes loaded with innuendo. According to the World Buskers Festival programme, Dusty Limits is also known as Dorian Black, an apt name for one whose repertoire, superbly executed, covers the invention and reinvention of the self.
Dusty Limits sings a selection of cabaret standards, often with perverse changes to the lyrics, and some of his own compositions, with accomplishment and flair. His patter alone is worth many times the derisory $10-$15 suggested donation. A deservedly full house meant I was sitting behind a pillar, so apart from leaning sideways a few times, to catch what everyone else was laughing at, I focused on the sound, and there was a big grin on my face most of the time.
Dusty’s voice slides and swoops around the words, to the expert accompaniment of pianist Richard. Love, lust, loss (at least of innocence), family and death are all dealt with. The tone of the show is irreverent in a way possibly only a gay ex-Catholic can manage, but the entire audience was engaged, and despite Dusty’s warning at the start – explicit sexual detail, language, etc., I saw no walk-outs.
Dusty Limits plays till 25 January, at 9:30pm. Unlike the performer, door sales are very limited, so book online.
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