Warm bath

After the ridiculous cocktail of anxiety and happiness that framed my run of "Showman" at The Purcell Room (And thank you so much for coming, if you did), it's was an easy pleasure to slide back into a weekend of doing some spots at a few London cabaret shows. Short sets are still my bread and butter, but you never know what you're going to get - they can be lovely and welcoming as a warm bath, or lary and unpredictable like a Jackie Chan fight scene. Luckily for me, I was at the Cafe Royal for Salon Des Artistes, and Kettners for Ruby Deshabille's High Societease - both completely gorgeous, classy and uncomplicatedly pleasurable shows.

They both share similar vibes, too. Sometimes cabaret shows try, I think possibly a little too hard, to be edgy or dangerous or sexy, and often end up coming off like a French teenager on a day trip to London pretending to smoke a fake cigarette to look cool (An image that every other ex Covent Garden street performer will instantly recognise). Salon and Societease don't bother with that, instead just presenting assured, quality, grown-up bills of intimate high class cabaret. And by doing that, they create the gently evocative atmosphere of illicit fun that gives this artform its character. A pleasure for those both sides of the curtain.

I threw my camera into my prop case just before I left the house, so here's a few of the things it saw..

I now have a signature cocktail! My work here is done.

Abi Collins slays her fellow performers

...and that's how you end a show.

Just before I sign off, it behooves me to mention that the first set of tour dates for "Showman" have now been announced. If you're not a Londoner, then maybe there's somewhere near you here, and if not, keep your eye on my twitter, as there are more dates added all the time. Oh, and if you're a Londoner who missed out on the Southbank Centre shows, never fear, plans are brewing for something fun in London this Summer.

"SHOWMAN" 2015 Tour dates

    30th March - Farnham Maltings, Surrey
    1st April - Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury
    2nd April - Plough Arts Centre, Great Torrington
    7th April - Devonport Guildhall, Devonport
    8th April - Devonport Guildhall, Devonport
    10th April - Square Chapel Centre for the Arts, Halifax
    11th April - Swayfield Village Hall
    8th May - Brighton Spiegeltent
    16th May - Birmingham Cabaret Festival, Old Joint Stock Theatre
    13th June - Jesterval festival, Newcastle
    3rd December - Overpelt, Belgium
    4th December - Geel, Belgium

More info than you could possibly need, at my newly repainted website.