Moulin Rouge

Tonight we visited the Moulin Rouge for dinner and a show. Dinner was decent, albeit with small portions and, if the waiting staff impressed me this afternoon, this evening’s waiter topped the lot by proving to be conversant with Japanese to enable him to speak with the other two couples on our table.

Dinner was only the entrée to the main event though. After dessert, we ordered champagne to see us through show, for it was the show we were there to see, and we were impressed.

On the downside, the auditorium was rather cramped, the show wasn't so tantalising for a gay audience member (unless you were a lesbian) and the synchronisation of the dance troupe wasn’t as perfect as, for example, the London production of Chicago. That said, the guys got more of their kit off later in the show (albeit for a rather camp interpretation of I Will Survive) and the whole show was very polished. I worked for a time in theatre (many years ago) and I was very impressed by the sheer technical complexity of it: As well as plenty of regular scenery, they had an entire forestage on hydraulics which, when uncovered, revealed a 5x5x3m aquarium filled with water in which swam, what I assume were, anacondas! The stage was raised during the number and then dramatically lit so that you realised it was a tank of water, it then proceeded to sink slowly into the floor, taking one of the dancers with it. One of the later numbers lowered a ceiling from above the stage with dancers on it which then folded down to reveal a staircase, which in turn descended down to the main stage; the choreography working seamlessly around this major tech set-piece.

Other acts of note included: the dancer choreographed in the anaconda tank for a two-minute piece; the act which preceded it which included a wonderful ‘Medusa’ costume for one of her fellows; the entr’acte acrobats, the Perez Brothers, who received almost continuous applause (and not just from me and Brett!) throughout their act for their breathtaking tumbling and balancing and sheer muscular control; the entr’acte mime who was an absolute scream and the male troupe in the big Can-Can number for showing that they were at least as limber as their female counterparts – and that much braver, for throwing themselves onto the stage in the splits without so much as a grimace as their balls hit the floor!

We came away feeling thoroughly entertained: Definitely worth the money. I want to go and see the show at the Lido on Thursday now, just to compare.