The Adelaide Insider

There are some shows that gently invite you in. And then there’s Feathers & Jazz Soirée, which takes you by the gloved hand, presses a coupe of champagne into your palm and sweeps you straight back to the golden haze of the 1920s with a gleeful grin and a cheeky wink. Produced by Selene Wilde as part of the glorious chaos that is the Adelaide Fringe, this limited-run gem at The Vault in Fool’s Paradise transforms Victoria Square into a speakeasy fever dream.

The ever-charismatic professional stirrer of mischief Nona Mona presides as host, keeping the crowd warmed up and wonderfully unruly. Behind her, the six-piece live jazz band Artisan Jazz Project works pure magic, reimagining pop and rock staples as smoky jazz numbers reborn in brass and swing, as though they’d been written for a clandestine cabaret all along.

Forming the Showgirl Troupe are Blue Belle, Allegra Noir, Lacey La Faye, Barb A. Rian and Ruma Luna, who burst onto the stage to a jazzy rendition of Madonna’s Material Girl, and what a way to christen the soirée. Clad in matching showgirl finery, complete with towering feathered headpieces and riotously bright skirts fashioned from boas in blues, reds, greens, pinks and purples, they shimmer in silver rhinestoned ensembles and kitten heels. It’s Las Vegas showgirl glamour by way of Adelaide after dark. They tease, they titillate, they form perfectly symmetrical tableaux before breaking formation to flirt shamelessly with the front row. The stage becomes their playground, and we’re simply lucky enough to watch them play.

A brooding jazz rendition of Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds slinks through the room, and Winchester Angel answers its call like she’s been summoned from another realm. Draped in a rich red satin mermaid skirt with matching corset dripping in black rhinestones, she looks as though she’s stepped straight out of a smoky noir film and into our unsuspecting decade. A white fur stole hangs from her shoulders with languid decadence, but it’s the single red rhinestone glove tipped with wicked talon-like fingers that seals the deal (a literal, glittering nod to the song’s title). She’s vampiric, dangerous, and deliciously dramatic. Working every inch of the stage, she locks eyes with audience members and holds them captive. It’s less a performance and more a seduction ritual… and we are entirely complicit.

If ever a performer embodied her name, it’s De DLuxe. To a slick, swinging take on Kiss by Prince, she begins swathed in an emerald green silk robe, its fluffy sleeve cuffs and sash swishing with every calculated step. Beneath, a sheer silver rhinestone ensemble glints under the lights. What follows is a masterclass in feather fan artistry. Wielding a pair of gloriously oversized white and chocolate ostrich feather fans, she quite literally puts the “feathers” into Feathers & Jazz Soirée. DLuxe doesn’t rush. She luxuriates, delivering a routine that feels both opulent and impeccably refined. “Deluxe” isn’t just her name; it’s a promise, and she fulfils it in spades.

I did not have hearing a jazz rendition of an Eminem song on my bingo card this Fringe, and yet here we are – with Salentina Dawn shimmying to a sultry jazz rendition of Without Me by Slim Shady himself. Draped in a sage green sequinned floor-length gown with intricate beading, she looks every inch the high-society socialite. A thick cream fur stole rests about her shoulders, short white rhinestone gloves completing the illusion of prim refinement. But the upper crust façade is deliciously deceptive. As the number melts into a slow-burn seduction, she shrugs off the stole, unzips her gown and reveals a champagne rhinestoned three-piece ensemble that catches the green stage lights like liquid gold.

A slowed, smouldering jazz cover of Call Me by Blondie sets the tone for Vivid Vixen’s red hot number. Draped in a flowing red sheer shawl over a matching floor-length A-line dress, she exudes cool authority. Underneath lies a black and nude two-piece with a red garter belt, but best believe she makes us wait for it. There’s something delicious about her restraint. When it comes time for the reveal, she turns the practical into the theatrical, enlisting a member of the band to unzip her dress. She moves with intention, savouring every beat, every glance. Vivid Vixen doesn’t chase the spotlight. It follows her.

Producer, curator and quite rightly star in her own soirée, Selene Wilde steps into the spotlight to a jazz-laced rendition of Wonderwall by Oasis, proving that even Britpop can be reborn with a brass section. Drenched in periwinkle blue from her corset, to her matching silk gloves trimmed in flirtatious fringe, right down to the blue ostrich feather perched in her hair, she is every inch the pure flapper fantasy. Bathed in blue light, she executes a seamless costume transformation: unlacing her corset to release a hidden panel skirt that cascades and swirls around her in a theatrical flourish. Wilde may be steering the ship behind the scenes, but onstage she’s right at home in the limelight.

Closing the soirée is Adelaide burlesque royalty Lyra La Belle, headlining with a bang to Mercy by Duffy. She appears in a black sequinned mermaid gown with red accents that sparkle like a star-strewn sky. A gloriously voluminous red tulle boa becomes her co-star as she struts, twirls and commands the room. From glove peels to unapologetic bump-and-grind floorwork, she radiates the easy confidence of a performer who knows precisely who she is. And just when you think she’s given us everything, she finishes with a triumphant tassel twirl that sends the crowd into raptures.

Feathers & Jazz Soirée delivers exactly what it promises: feathers, jazz, and a riotously good time. It’s polished yet playful, sophisticated but never stuffy. A show equally welcoming to seasoned burlesque devotees and wide-eyed first-timers. At this point, Adelaide Fringe without feathers and jazz would feel positively improper. And thanks to Selene Wilde’s carefully curated cast consisting of a blend of established icons and rising stars, this particular soirée proves that burlesque, much like jazz, truly goes out of style.

Feathers & Jazz Soirée
Date: Wednesday 18 – Sunday 22 February 2026
Location:  The Vault, Fool’s Paradise, Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000
Rating: ★★★★½