Sydney Festival 2019: Marcia Hines stars in Pigalle cabaret-style show

Disco queen Marcia Hines adds a 1970s beat to her latest project, as she aims to conquer the Sydney Festival audiences with Pigalle, a cabaret spectacular set in the Parisian district of the same name.

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She ruled the ’70s with her popular tunes and has a string of smash hit musicals behind her, but you’ll still find Marcia Hines nervously practising before every project.

Hines’ latest ambition is conquering the Sydney Festival audiences with Pigalle, a cabaret spectacular set in the Parisian district of the same name.

She describes her role as “co-narrator” in this story of lost misfits and one man who has the vision to unite them.

“I’m nervous about everything because one must never rest on their laurels. (I’m) just trying to remember the lyrics and the dance steps and to remember to get on stage when I’m supposed to,” she tells BW Magazine.

“We were all a bag of nerves at rehearsals. We were all taking care and tending each other’s nerves … that part is really wonderful because it’s the bonding stage.”

Marcia Hines performs in Pigalle as part of the Sydney Festival. Picture: Prudence Upton

And despite her own stellar record on stage, the 65-year-old is most excited about sharing the experience with a talented cast including Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Waangenga Blanco and award-winning performer iOTA.

“iOTA is pretty incredible. I’ve been a fan of his for years so to share a stage with him is incredible,” she says.

“It’s always a good thing to be a part of an ensemble because you learn so much about the industry that you are in.”

Pigalle is part of this year’s Sydney Festival. Picture: Prudence Upton

With a host of young talent also on board, it’s easy to visualise Hines becoming a mentor on set — but she is quick to dismantle that image.

“I don’t really wear those shoes unless someone comes to me and says ‘Can you help me with this?’ because after all it is their journey and it’s wonderful to see performers blossom,” she says.

It’s this humility paired with decades of experience that drew director Craig Ilott to Hines for Pigalle.

One of the Pigalle performers. Picture: Prudence Upton

Ilott is the multi award-winning director behind Velvet, Smoke And Mirrors and American Idiot and this isn’t his first time he had to talk disco with the disco Queen.

The pair had previously worked together on the production Velvet in 2015.

“On the first few days of Velvet I thought, ‘Oh my God, why would Marcia Hines listen to a bloody thing I have to say about disco? She’s lived it’,” he says with a laugh.

“My fears were ill-placed there, she was just terrific and accommodating and generous.”

Ilott says apart from the varying degree of experience among his cast, there’s also a generous mix of talent.

Everything from burlesque to disco to circus has found its place in this production and he says it makes for plenty of fun on stage and off it.

“I always love working with new disciplines and new people. The most exciting thing about doing a show like this is watching the way they feed off each other,” he says.

“(Right now) there is some fire being spun about 10m down here from me and we’ve just come out of a dance routine. It’s certainly not boring, let’s put it that way.”

* Pigalle is showing at Sydney Festival until January 27