VAULT FESTIVAL REVIEW: Cabaret Sauvignon & A Single Vault Whiskey ★★★★

Cabaret Sauvignon & A Single Vault Whiskey
The Cresent, Vault Festival
Friday 14th February 2020

Let me ask you this; how did you spend your Valentine's Day? Was it a romantic meal at your favourite restaurant, or a more casual self-care at home with pampered good, because those two options would probably be near the top of most people's lists, but for myself and around 170 others this late Friday evening, we spent around 100 minutes with eachother in the safe hands of 'Stiff and Kitsch', a female comedy duo formed by Rhiannon Neads and Sally O'Leary, who most certainly could give musical sister legends Flo & Joan a run for their money.

From songs about Hangovers at the tender age of 21 to audience participation games surrounding Google Predictions, conveniently centred around the romantic evening, Stiff & Kitsch are hilariously brilliant and likeable,  as two strong women completely own the stage; Rhiannon is trying so hard to convince us that Dominic in the front row is her boyfriend to us all, though he doesn't seem to keen on the idea, whilst Sally is certain her long-term relationship is in tatters following several attempts to get her actual boyfriend to stand up in the audience... obviously this also doesn't happen, but that's okay because she's thought about this and got an A2 sized card with his face on instead for us all to marvel at, whilst Rhiannon's real dad is sat on the front row and is hearing her crude jokes for the very first time.

Cabaret Sauvignon isn't just about Stiff and Kitsch though, as the evening runs in style very much similar to a usual 'Live at The Apollo' format, with the entertainment specifically handpicked for our delight; Jon Long gives us his views on way being a Flexitarian is the way forward for humanity, Archie Henderson lets us know what Bohemian Rhapsody would sound like with Arnold Schwarzenegger's Voice, whilst Maris Piper together mash up some of the world's most recognisable love songs, with a few parodies.

Later on in the night, Norwegian International Superstars 'Giants are Fjörd' pop by to let us know their personal feelings towards a girl named Sara, and their 'love' for a certain boy wizard and his third eye, but the highlight of the night comes from a man named James Taylor. Having been an original member of Stiff & Kitsch when first formed, Taylor ran away for stardom in a career in musical for movies, which has seen him work on The Beatle's inspired Yesterday (2019), the Live Action remake of Aladdin (2019) and Cats (2020). Yes, Cats... the movie starring Dame Judy Dench, Sir Ian McKellen...and James Corden. Let it be known also that Stiff & Kitsch will never let Taylor live this monstrosity down either, with a sheer load of feline gags up their sleeves which had the audience in stitches, as well as a familiar cats musical number as entrance music as he clambered his way to the stage to give us an original number surrounding a rom-com of Boy who meets Girl and end up on a plane together...

Overall, Cabaret Sauvignon & A Single Vault Whiskey (Vodka) was an unforgettable and unique evening full of musical comedy skits that had our sides splitting and smiles difficult to rub off our faces as the audience erupted with huge applause following each act with huge support, all helmed by a female comedy duo who will undoubtedly have a huge career ahead of themselves.