Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

The world may be going to hell, but Reuben Kaye is not coming quietly – offering a powerfully defiant call against conformity and authoritarianism through the medium he commands so comprehensively, cabaret.

In Apokalipstik, his rebellious songs – as powerful in their message as in their forceful delivery – are blended with the fascinating, newly unearthed story of Kaye’s uncle, Helmut, and his life in Communist East Berlin.

There’s a lot to tell, from the scars of the Holocaust and of being left behind when his sister fled to Australia to an audacious bid for freedom and some eye-popping extracurricular activities. 

Helmut is probably nobody’s idea of a perfect hero, but we are made to understand him and – perhaps – be inspired that it’s possible to have a colourful life in a drab, repressive, apparently hopeless society. A state of affairs Kaye fears is returning with a resurgence in right-wing politics,

This would be enough for most comedians, but not only does Kaye blend this fascinating tale with his redoubtable protest songs and eloquent, impassioned polemics, but he also muses on so much more, from the meaning of masculinity to America’s gay scene to the ecologically destructive ethos of fashion, pertinent to the story given his mother was a designer. And yes, there is a certain amount of acknowledged hypocrisy in that last one, given Kaye’s stunning on-stage look. 

He always has something of a dictatorial approach to his commanding performance, demanding a subjugation from his audience, which is apt given the themes here. And he fully deploys the Soviet aesthetic, with revolutionary banners framing the stage on which his band assemble.

The showmanship is supreme, as we have come to expect, with the significance of the message lightened by the power of the music and the delicious joy of the filthiest dick joke.

However, all elements of this complex show did not always work in smooth concert, with the shift between the family story and the political present – underpinned by the musical battle-cries – feeling a little like two separate shows smooshed together. 

But with one side fascinating and the other fervently inspiring – and both powerful in their separate ways – Apokalipstik is the sort of defiant political cabaret not seen since… well, Berlin in its heyday.

Review date: 7 Apr 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival