Words by Your Local Hok
Crazy cabaret cat lady Tash York introduces to you to her Happy Hour! She’s back and better than ever with a five-piece band and her red red wines, Vivian Fonteyn and June Bag.
Bring your beverage of choice to the show and prepare to be transported to an hour filled with booze, laughs, drag, cabaret, improv, and a whole lot of red red wine.
As soon as you walk through the door, you’re asked to submit something that has been grinding your gears lately, leaving you in anticipation for how York will use these later on in the show.
York makes a dramatic entrance to the show, coming out to a stream of bubbles in an Elsa from Frozen inspired costume made out of unbreathable polyester.
If you have ever wandered what the song ‘Shots’ by LMFAO feat. Lil Wayne sounds like as a cabaret rendition, well York has you covered. We’ll let you be the judge as to whether this actually works, but it’s trashy and classy at the same time, which is very much like York’s style.
Happy Hour brings out an Australian tradition seen in many backyard house parties, the quintessential Goon of Fortune. There’s wine, wine, wine, and a cat rap in store for you depending on where the Hills Hoist lands for York.
It’s very on brand for York to down a glass of red wine on stage and proceed to take on the challenge of a cat rap using audience member cues.
Fonteyn and Bag have a bold stage presence alongside York during their Happy Hour, performing an original song about not judging a wine by its label (which is definitely an analogy for the pair). Their strong vocals, instrumental abilities, and sassiness also shine throughout the show.
We’re given a demonstration of how to cope with our feelings with pussy play, smiling with a grin, and how to social distance effectively by wearing an inflatable ‘Big baby’ suit, of which York hilariously emerges from the stage in one.
York is a big advocate of self-pleasure and combines the fine art of touching herself whilst performing cabaret in the midst of it all as well. I must say that her hand motions are equally as strong as her vocal abilities.
Having spent 262 days in lockdown, you don’t blame York for her rowdiness and off-the-hook demeanor as she spits out rhymes using the audience submissions that she received at the beginning of the show about what grinds their gears.
Every word is a rhyme, despite actually not making sense at times. But hey, what is improv rap without the chaos?
It wouldn’t be a show with York if we weren’t brought to tears by an emotional and heartfelt song. Her performance of an original song about finding the people who truly love you will bring a tear to your eye and all the feels, especially after the past few years.
If you wish to forget about all your worries throughout your daily life for just one wholesome hour, then look no further than Tash York’s latest show. Happy Hour is a raucous and rowdy filled happy hour with Yakult shots and outrageously funny cabaret.
Rating: ★★★★★