Lights, glitter, action… Adelaide Cabaret Festival starts with a bang.

Adelaide Festival Theatre, Friday June 6

It’s not usual to find feather boas, glitz and glamour in the streets of Adelaide, but when it’s cabaret time, anything goes! And the Cabaret Festival’s Gala Opening ensured the sedate city unleashed itself with a bit of pizazz.

Walking down the red carpet at the front of the Festival Centre, TV cameras rolled and photographers snapped. Famous or not, you were made to feel like a star! And although a few slightly shyer guests slipped in a side door to avoid the spotlight, most seemed to be enjoying every moment.

Inside, the champagne was flowing. Various local celebrities posed for photos alongside drag queens in long dresses and wigs. Everyone was surreptitiously staring at each other, desperately trying to work out who was who.

Tickets had sold out to the event far in advance; everyone was keen to discover what Kate Ceberano’s third and final year as Artistic Director would bring. What would a festival badged as ‘not your usual suspects’ be like?

As the house lights went down Gypsy Ceberano stepped out from behind the curtain, her mother’s gene pool evident in both her looks...