Hans: In Das Haus
Festivals
Well hello, daahlings – Hans is In Das Haus and we are going to party tonight, bitches!
From the moment he sashays on stage, perennial Fringe favourite Hans – aka “the German boy wonder” – has the Aurora Spiegeltent audience on its feet and ready to go with him on a “cabarap” journey to Gangsta’s Paradise.
“Rapping at 7 on a Monday night - it doesn’t get more ghetto than that,” says our host, clad in black hotpants, sequin-panelled vest, fishnet stockings, purple fedora, trademark blue eyeshadow and an embarrassment of feathers.
It’s a high-camp, high-energy, high-comedy trip as Hans leaves no dance move untwerked in his bid to win entry to the hip-hop hall of fame, with a lot of help from his five-piece band The Ungrateful Bastards and back-up dancers The Lucky Bitches.
A soundtrack of excellent mashups – including everything from Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It” to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” – are delivered with a hefty helping of bitchiness and bawdy humour. There’s a surprise duet with a guest sporting more sequins than the boy wonder himself, an accordion interlude, skipping, tap dancing, krumping and, of course, several glittering costume changes.
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The song and dance are punctuated with audience engagement, and the discovery of a 15-year-old Catholic schoolgirl sitting in the front row with her mother was a gift that kept on giving on Monday night. Taking a seat close to the stage is risky, but hiding further back in the Spiegeltent still won’t necessarily guarantee your safety – the trio of gents Hans-picked for an on-stage competition deserved their own place in the Good Sports Hall of Fame.
The vocal crowd kept calling for more, and was rewarded with a show that went overtime and had them once again on their feet for the finale. Hans might not be to everyone’s (good) taste, but if you bring an open mind – and possibly leave your schoolgirl daughter at home – you should have a ball.
We had fun In Das Haus, yah?
Hans: In Das Haus (recommended PG) has two more shows in the Aurora Spiegeltent, Garden of Unearthly Delights, on March 2 and March 9.
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