“The Bitten Peach is a UK based, queer, pan-Asian cabaret production company.” and this May they brought their production to Cardiff. The one-night stop included drag, burlesque, and indie pop. After a surprisingly sunny afternoon drinking in Cardiff Bay, the audience of hen parties, locals and cabaret-first-timers were ready to laugh and cheer.
The Bitten Peach runs regular shows in London as well as touring productions across the UK “We tell Asian stories, create safe spaces, throw parties, produce shows, diversify Asian representation, provide platforms, and educate on racial issues.”
Cabaret shows often feature a number of different artists in a curated line up that changes from show to show and in Cardiff three Bitten Peach regulars were joined by two local performers. The cast of just four performers and a host felt on the small side, and I would have liked one more act to flesh out the night (no peach-pun intended), but the different act-types were well balanced, and it was great to see Bitten Peach using their stage to platform Asian acts from Cardiff.
The night was hosted by the stunning Asia Thorne who introduced Bitten Peach with sex and sass and seriousness – taking moments between innuendo’s to remind us of the importance of fostering opportunities for queer people of colour, and of protecting our trans friends in the light of the election news that day.
Captivating in self-made sparkling gowns, Asia closed the first half with a passionate and funny lip-sync to Céline Dion’s ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’. I would have loved to reduce the amount of crowd-work between acts and seen another number from Asia in the second half.
The two local acts were ‘Wales’ first Southeast Asian Drag King’ Wan Long Kok and British born Korean drag artist Mica Soft – two excellent stage names!
Wan Long Kok swanned onto stage as a satirical stereotype that confronted racist microaggressions whilst also being entertaining. The performance was a mega-mix of acting, song, prop-comedy, audience-participation and music-video creation. Whilst it sounds chaotic to cram all that into one act, Wan Long Kok was such a confident performer that the audience had a great time with this one – and probably learned something too.
Mica Soft performed two acts inspired by Avatar the Last Airbender. As a big fan of the show, I was excited to see Mica in Azula cosplay. I’ve been dying to see ‘Avatar – the Last Hairbender’ (an Avatar themed cabaret show in London), so this felt like an unexpected treat. Mica’s acts were well thought out with song choices fitting the character’s mood in the show, and I liked the ribbon dancing to represent lightning bending. Unfortunately I think these acts lost on some of the audience who hadn’t seen the show and a short intro from the host might have helped add some context.
Alongside the host, the night included two other Bitten Peach regulars: show producer Jason Kwan who is a talented singer-songwriter and burlesque dancer Kit Khan, who each performed twice.
Model and indie-pop artist Jason Kwan graced the stage in a stylish cream outfit, his credits include Glastonbury and Meltdown Festival as well as being a face of Nyx cosmetics. He treated the audience to three songs across the evening including the premiere of ‘Break The Ceiling’ a new collaboration with Salty Chick. I’ve not seen pop as part of a Cabaret show before, and it was a great addition. Jason’s easy-going style and upbeat stylings felt like something we could certainly hear in feature films in years to come.
Lastly, Burlesque dancer Kit Khan opened and closed the show and I can see why. Kit had an excellent connection to the audience and a style that harked back to classic burlesque, that really got the audience going. Kit’s Costuming, choreography, hair and make-up all felt nostalgic: with an understated wit and glamour. Kit had clearly studied burlesque-artists-passed and it was a joy to see a good old fashioned bump and grind reimagined in their body.