Madame Zingara's Theatre of Dreams - spectacle, South African style
Madame Zingara�s Theatre of Dreams � Battersea Power Station
South Africa�s premier cirque du soleil/cabaret/supper club spectacle has landed in its elaborate mirrored Spiegel tent on waste ground next to Battersea Power Station, promising an evening of great food, jaw-dropping entertainment and a touch of decadence. And by and large, it delivers it � with a couple of caveats, which I�ll come to later.
A 10-minute walk from Battersea Park train station, we made our way across a couple of cavernous car park-like spaces before encountering the opulent, draped tent, reached via a heart arch and an Astroturf walkway. Suddenly, we were in a strange world that mixed circus, an Edwardian freak show and a slightly dodgy cabaret club with a heavy dose of Greek mythology.
Handed a fruit cocktail on our way in, we� were soon ushered to our table by our attentive waitress and were able to take in the richness of our surroundings � velvet drapes, mirrors and stained glass partitions, wood panelling, and dozens of neatly decorated tables and chairs, surrounding a circular central stage.
A DJ played a strong selection of music and strange characters made their way amongst the exotically dressed waiters and waitresses, including a bearded bloke in a long dress offering the ladies a love token from his woven basket.
And so the evening progressed across around four hours, mixing food and show at regular intervals.
First, the food � a real mixture of �fusion� fare that really hit the spot. First, a dish of antipasti � olives, peppers, pitta and dips to get your tastebuds going. Starter was a ravioli�type pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce � very tasty, but the piece de resistance was the main course. Here we were given a choice of four dishes: chilli chocolate beef, lamb shanks, a fish dish (salmon on our night) and a vegetarian option.
We went for the chilli chocolate beef, which was absolutely superb, and lamb shanks which were plentiful and came with mashed potato, vegetables and delicious oniony gravy.
Dessert was simple but very effective, three little ramekins each offering cr�me brulee, tiramisu and sticky toffee pudding. An easy way of giving you a taste of everything.
And that was very much the theme of the entertainment: a real mix of trapeze artists, acrobats, contortionists, strong men, music and camp larking about. Among the mythical creatures introduced were the Greek god Pan � a stilt-walking imp full of lasciviousness and laughter, a woman circus mistress with a goatee beard and more.
The music came courtesy of a trio of large black South African ladies calling themselves Tons of Fun, and one extra large lady who I took to be Madame Zingara herself, but may not have been. They belted out a rousing selection of popular soul and dancefloor classics, and sparkled at regular intervals.
Everything finished with a giant disco with the guests encouraged to dance on the tables, although I was heading back for the last train by then.
My two caveats � the content seemed a bit disjointed and thrown together at times, and I was slightly disappointed (as a world music fan) that we didn�t get more genuine South African flavour than a small section of songs midway through that immediately made it clear a good proportion of the sellout audience were Springboks.
And the prices start at �75. You could argue that the quality of the food accounted for a good �30-40 of that, but even so in today�s climate it comes in as a fairly pricey night.
You can�t deny it�s a spectacle though, and for a Christmas/New Year treat it will surely hit the spot for those with the means.
To book and find out more visit www.madamezingara.com
South Africa�s premier cirque du soleil/cabaret/supper club spectacle has landed in its elaborate mirrored Spiegel tent on waste ground next to Battersea Power Station, promising an evening of great food, jaw-dropping entertainment and a touch of decadence. And by and large, it delivers it � with a couple of caveats, which I�ll come to later.
A 10-minute walk from Battersea Park train station, we made our way across a couple of cavernous car park-like spaces before encountering the opulent, draped tent, reached via a heart arch and an Astroturf walkway. Suddenly, we were in a strange world that mixed circus, an Edwardian freak show and a slightly dodgy cabaret club with a heavy dose of Greek mythology.
Handed a fruit cocktail on our way in, we� were soon ushered to our table by our attentive waitress and were able to take in the richness of our surroundings � velvet drapes, mirrors and stained glass partitions, wood panelling, and dozens of neatly decorated tables and chairs, surrounding a circular central stage.
A DJ played a strong selection of music and strange characters made their way amongst the exotically dressed waiters and waitresses, including a bearded bloke in a long dress offering the ladies a love token from his woven basket.
And so the evening progressed across around four hours, mixing food and show at regular intervals.
First, the food � a real mixture of �fusion� fare that really hit the spot. First, a dish of antipasti � olives, peppers, pitta and dips to get your tastebuds going. Starter was a ravioli�type pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce � very tasty, but the piece de resistance was the main course. Here we were given a choice of four dishes: chilli chocolate beef, lamb shanks, a fish dish (salmon on our night) and a vegetarian option.
We went for the chilli chocolate beef, which was absolutely superb, and lamb shanks which were plentiful and came with mashed potato, vegetables and delicious oniony gravy.
Dessert was simple but very effective, three little ramekins each offering cr�me brulee, tiramisu and sticky toffee pudding. An easy way of giving you a taste of everything.
And that was very much the theme of the entertainment: a real mix of trapeze artists, acrobats, contortionists, strong men, music and camp larking about. Among the mythical creatures introduced were the Greek god Pan � a stilt-walking imp full of lasciviousness and laughter, a woman circus mistress with a goatee beard and more.
The music came courtesy of a trio of large black South African ladies calling themselves Tons of Fun, and one extra large lady who I took to be Madame Zingara herself, but may not have been. They belted out a rousing selection of popular soul and dancefloor classics, and sparkled at regular intervals.
Everything finished with a giant disco with the guests encouraged to dance on the tables, although I was heading back for the last train by then.
My two caveats � the content seemed a bit disjointed and thrown together at times, and I was slightly disappointed (as a world music fan) that we didn�t get more genuine South African flavour than a small section of songs midway through that immediately made it clear a good proportion of the sellout audience were Springboks.
And the prices start at �75. You could argue that the quality of the food accounted for a good �30-40 of that, but even so in today�s climate it comes in as a fairly pricey night.
You can�t deny it�s a spectacle though, and for a Christmas/New Year treat it will surely hit the spot for those with the means.
To book and find out more visit www.madamezingara.com