Last night was Cabaret night at The Cube, and possibly because of the association with the current ladyfest, it was full to the rafters.
I didn’t catch it all but did see a spellbinding performance from Rasha Shaheen . . .
As instructed in an earlier post I, and a friend, donned our fanciest hats in the hope of getting a free paradise punch . . .
. . . but must say poor Mr Paradise himself, and his punchlines, seemed to be struggling with an unreceptive audience on stage somewhat, as he presented alongside Zulieka . . .
. . . many of which, rather bizarrely I would venture, would not exactly be classed as classically lady-friendly material . . !
Anyway much fun was had - documented not just by me ( and hopefully / most probably by the aforementioned Richie ), but also the tuxedoed Paul Albrecht of the Cube Orchestra . . . a mixture for your delight and perusal follows below . . .
How long before not being allowed to smoke in The Cube seems normal? Seems strange now that you used to be able to smoke in Cinemas.
Alan Sillitoe audio slideshow - My life as a smoker
May brought us Zuleika Zeigfield’s second ever Cube Cabaret, a cheeky tip of the hat to the great days of the Ol’ British Musichall, with a dash of striptease for good measure. As ever the Hosts looked simply divine
being seasoned pro’s our repetoire was both witty and well informed, as you can see HERE (turn your head sideways though). All the pics (bar one) were taken by Professional photographer Robert Babylon by the way. Robert has quite a reputation so it was an honour having him there to document the night. And Meg Paradise took all the video footage, thanks honey.
What a show we had! A medium sized, highly vocal and very appreciative audience not only had Bristol’s favourite Dandy Stanley Forbes
but a whole plethora of acts to wet their appetite, including special guests (a bit more on that later popfans). Stanley’s band seemed to be made up of celebs, Fran Cotton being one and I think Sigmund Freud another. Anyhow if you want to see them in action clip HERE
Mr. Alexander Thomas was next with his Thereminovox. 
Though some thought they’d stumbled upon a seance his mastery and skill over his instrument was admirable and quiet quiet moving.
A quick costume change by yours truly:
and then Manchester’s Queen of Burlesque Bella Besame showed us her mastery of the art of Striptease
To see some of the actioN click HERE.
A short break and then our special guests A HAWK AND A HACKSAW FEATURING THE HUN HANGAR ENSEMBLE!
Unbelievably good, sensational even. My thanks to them and Mark Slater and Chiz who phoned me up asking if The Cabaret Gang would like them to play as a warm up before their tour. The audience asked for more so I got them to chant in Hungarian More! (forgotten what it was now) and they blessed us with one more fine fine tune. Click on the links above and you’ll get a taste.
A quick break and a quick costume change:
and then we had our final 3 acts. the crazy and insane Ziegfield players 
Tunesmith and raconteur Benjamin Weatherhill 
And then to finish the night off Bella Besame blessed us with some fine old fashioned Striptease
WOW. What a night, and yet, and yet there was more because in the Bar I Am The Mighty Jungulator’s Matt was spinning showtunes (YES showtunes), to which punters and staff alike strutted their stuff 
Matt is one of the maddest looking (and loveliest) people around so I wasn’t that surprised, I wonder if Tricky is also into the hits of Doris Day……………………..
Thanks to everyone who came, worked and performed, The Cabaret Gang love you.
Ciao For Now, 
Richie Paradise
There’s lots on on Saturday ( tomorrow as I write ), with Stitch-Stitch taking over Seymour’s for their jam packed “Se-Da-Bop” all-dayer, Underscore putting on Leif at Cosies, but the one I’m pushing is the open party at The Cube to celebrate the installation of the new cinema sound system - which sounds amazing, by the way, and will feature artwork in the bar by Cube volunteers, including hard copies all the pictures I’ve ever posted on here on the cubelog . . .
. . . of which that is just a small section, and ‘Cutting Up My Friends‘ on a loop on the lounge monitor.
The night will be rounded off with Eraserhead as the Midnight movie to really showcase those immersive cinema sound stylings.
See you there . . ?
