Before Reuben Kaye hits Brisbane for Melt Festival (and then Melbourne) with his acclaimed show enGORGEd, we find out how the comedian and cabaret superstar has handled a hugely creative year.
At any given moment, you never know where the irrepressible delight that is Reuben Kaye will pop up.
One minute, he’s touring Australia, then he’s popping up in Europe and more.
We phoned him to chat about bringing enGORGEd to Brisbane and Melbourne, and he’s busy in South Australia, working on next year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival as Festival Director.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he shares, excited to be giving his personal spark to the festival.
“We’ve been working on the programming, and I filmed a TV commercial, and we’ve been designing the aesthetic of the festival campaign.”
“How the foyers are going to look, food options, this is what I hoped I’d be doing, honestly.
“As opposed to sitting in a boardroom and having endless meetings, they’ve really allowed me to have an artistic directorship.
“They allowed me to call the festival ‘Delicious Revolution’.
“And then program it according to that theme, taking things in a darker, more contemporary direction.”
Image: SuppliedenGORGEd is Kaye’s boldest production yet
Reuben is charting an exciting course for what the art of cabaret means in Australia.
Giving a license and a voice to a side of the art form that many have ignored for decades.
“It was never consciously this mission statement of mine to uplift or amplify or contemporize the art form.” Reuben shares.
“I think I’ve always had to terraform a space so that I’m safe in it and that I can function in it.”
“I’ve had to do it for my career.
“It wasn’t until I did that the rest of the world noticed and saw that it was valuable.
“I think if I’ve been able to do that with this art form that’s given me so much, that’s given the world so much, then what a beautiful cross to bear.
“And I’ve been able to do it, dragging all of these amazing artists up with me, and that’s a real joy, considering the onstage persona is such a diva who’s so self-centred.”
A Swarovski-studded force of nature, enGORGEd is Kaye’s boldest and most spectacular production yet.
Backed by an 18-piece orchestra, Kaye is excited to perform a raft of songs, from originals to real obscurities and camp classics.
While it may be the same show in each state, that doesn’t mean it’s the same orchestra.
The original work was commissioned by the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, with musical direction and arrangements by Shanon D Whitelock.
Brisbane will see Kaye perform with Camerata, Queensland’s chamber orchestra.
Image: SuppliedPhoto by Claudio Raschella
‘It’s the closest to the divine that someone who’s damned like me can ever get’
“This show started with a phone call from Tina Arena out of the blue, when she was the Artistic Director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.”
“It was just, ‘Hello, Reuben. It’s Tina Arena, and I was dead. I died. I screamed.” Reuben laughed.
“I was in Tasmania, sitting next to Shanon, grabbing his thigh so hard he lost circulation.”
“She offered me an orchestra show, and Shanon’s eyes lit up because it meant he got to arrange for 18 pieces.
“It’s a huge undertaking, vocally, creatively, but what a sandbox to build a castle in.”
They say size isn’t everything, but that opportunity gave Kaye the ability to bring another level of power and passion to the way he entertains.
“I always love scale and love building. How big can Reuben Kaye get?” he laughed.
“There are times with this, with the full 18-piece orchestra hammering away behind me, blasting away,
“It’s the closest to the divine that someone who’s damned like me can ever get.”
“There are three new songs from Shanon and me in the show, and real queer camp classics.
“There’s Whitney and even some Aerosmith. No matter who you are, when you come to the show, there’s something there for you.”
Image: Supplied‘I thought Jesus Christ was going to be an easy gig’
“Because what I’ve realised is, no matter how much they try and tell us that queer voices are niche, that queer voices only appeal to queer audiences.”
“I look out of my audience and I see an absolute cross-section of society,” he said.
“I have young queer, non binary trans kids, established older Grahams and Helens who’ve got a beach house in Sorrento.”
“I’ve got everyone in between, and it’s beautiful to see how wide the appeal of queer art is.
“No matter what the media or the system tries to tell us.”
Reuben has had a huge year playing the role of Herod in the Australian tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.
“It has been a wild year,” he shared.
“But it’s very nice to be proved right after so many years of being told that you’re not going to make it.”
“It’s been a year where I barely had time to stop and enjoy it, and next year is just going to be bigger.
“I’ve gotten better as of this year of giving myself time to decompress and time to calm down.
“I thought Jesus Christ Superstar was going to be an easy gig and a break.
“Then I realised what eight shows a week in a musical does and I kept doing solo shows here and there on top of that.”
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enGORGEd is a gift
“It became very apparent there when I ended up in the Jewish Hospital in Berlin being attended by a Palestinian doctor, that I need to take a little break,” he shared.
“I deleted everything off my phone, and no one was allowed to call me, and I sat on the beach and read books.
“No news, no grindr, no sniffies, no Instagram, no TikTok, no nothing. It was fantastic.”
And now Reuben is ready to delight Australian audiences again with enGORGEd.
Coming to QPAC for Melt Festival on Thursday, 6th November, and the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday, 28th November.
And due to popular demand, a second show has been announced on Saturday, 29th November in Melbourne.
Accompanied by an 18-piece orchestra with musical direction by Shanon D Whitelock, it’s going to be amazing.
“I cannot believe that someone as talented as Shanon has continually worked with me for nine years.”
“I don’t know why. Many people have asked him to blink twice if he needs help, and he keeps coming back.” Reuben laughed.
“So being able to do this show is not just a gift for me, it’s a gift from me to Shanon.”
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