Paul Capsis captivated by cabaret

Connections from Paul Capsis’s past appearances at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival come together in a heavy rocking new show.

Paul Capsis. Picture: Mandy Hall, Supplied by Adelaide Cabaret Festival

MANY of the elements which come together in vocal powerhouse and song stylist Paul Capsis’s new Spiegeltent show can be traced back to connections from his past performances at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

“Any time I can come here, I love it. This is very different from anything else … it’s that community. They bring us together,” Capsis says during a break in rehearsals.

One of his earlier cabaret shows directly led to State Theatre Company’s then artistic director Geordie Brookman and his playwright wife Nicki Bloom creating the musical theatre piece Little Bird especially for Capsis, as part of the festival’s 2014 program.

“Literally, after my first night, I got a phone call to meet Geordie and Nicki at the Intercontinental,” Capsis recalls.

Actor-singer Paul Capsis in Adelaide. Picture: Kelly Barnes/The Australian

“They saw me perform with a band and Nicki had this idea to write a show – more of a theatrical musical piece, rather than a cabaret or music hall – and it ended up becoming a piece called Little Bird.

“We got to do that show elsewhere – in Melbourne and Geelong – but that was very specifically from the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

“That’s another rare thing that happens – when people see your work and get ideas.”

In turn, Capsis first worked with composer and sound artist Jethro Woodward while doing a show for Windmill Theatre.

“Again, it’s an Adelaide connection. When I was with Windmill for the first time, doing Pinocchio, Jethro Woodward was the musical director on that show. Then the second thing I did with them, which was Rumpelstiltskin, Jethro was again our musical director.

“Jethro lives in Melbourne, and I got offered a run of shows at the Memo Music Hall in St Kilda … so I said okay, but I want to work with this guy called Jethro Woodward and want to do a more rock-orientated show.

“Jethro is one of the few musical directors I’ve worked with who actually really gets my voice and gets where I come from, in terms of how I like to vocalise.

“He’s super in-demand right now – he’s actually working on (the David Bowie musical) Lazarus.”

Capsis is billed as performing with “Jethro Woodward and the Fitzroy Youth Orchestra” for this Cabaret Festival season.

“I think they should be called the ‘Sexy Librarians’, myself,” Capsis says with a wicked laugh.

“It’s a bunch of new things that I’m doing – there’s some Lana Del Rey, there’s some Childish Gambino, some Led Zeppelin, Joan Baez, some obscure things that Jethro has come up with.

“Honestly, I can’t tell you what it is like for me singing with this particular band: They are amazing, they are all extraordinary musicians. And these guys actually sing as well, so I’ve got a lot of support when we do those big numbers, like the Janis Joplin and Patti Smith.

“So it’s a pretty full-on show. It’s a very demanding vocal show for me … and I haven’t done a show like that for a long time.”

SEE: Paul Capsis, Famous Spiegeltent, June 14-15.

BOOK: adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au