Review: Audio description makes burlesque raunchier in Codeword Cabaret

As a lifelong blind person, cabaret wouldn’t normally be my go-to for live entertainment. It is often very visual with mime, dance, and burlesque elements featuring heavily. 

Including breasts (bare, covered with stickers or glitter), colourful thongs and G-strings, wigs, and elaborate costumes, Codeword Cabaret was a heavily visual performance. Despite that I had a blast at the show at the Double Whammy on Auckland’s K Road last Wednesday night.

How did I know about all those visuals, you might ask? Well, Codeword Cabaret was audio described for blind and vision impaired audience members – to enable us to know what was happening onstage and to get a sense of the visual elements of the night’s performances. 

What is audio description? It is when the visual elements of a show are spoken to blind and vision impaired audience members by an audio describer. The audio describer, in this case Antonio Te Maioha from Audio Described Aotearoa, sat in the back of the cellar bar talking into a stenomask with a mic inside, connected to a transmitter and blind and vision impaired patrons listened through receivers with an earpiece attached. 

That’s how I know, the stage was deep and high with red lighting, a performer was playing imaginary drums, and another wore a pink and gold G-string. Throughout the night, the audio describer told us about the set and lighting, costumes, dance moves and any action on the stage. The most memorable phrase from our audio describer was: “she’s stroking the lips of a crocheted vagina cushion” followed by: “that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.” 

An enthusiastic and supportive audience was treated to a showcase of cabaret performances including songs, stand-up comedy, burlesque acts, comedy skits and sword fighting, from a talented and energetic bunch of performers. 

As well as being audio described the performance was also signed in New Zealand Sign Language to enable Deaf people to have full access to the show and the venue had made a real effort to be physically accessible. 

The show’s accessibility was celebrated by the MC who talked about the VIP touch tour blind and vision impaired people would get if the burlesque performers allowed them to touch their costumes. That wasn’t included in this performance, but touch tours are often included and it’s amazing to get an idea of how the costumes must look onstage. 

Highlights of the night  for me included the “sit-down” comedian - wheelchair user and disability advocate Juliana Carvalho who had the audience in an uproar with disability-related poo and wee stories (yuck, but hilarious!). She also taught the audience and the sign language interpreters the Brazilian sign for a blowjob, which according to the audio describer was very graphic! 

Deep Heat's raunchy dance was performed in ever-decreasing purple outfits. Strategically placed purple fans provided the audience with glimpses of what was revealed as the costume was slowly removed. 

Does cabaret, a highly visual art form work for a blind and vision impaired audience? Due to the skill and speed of Antonio's description I was laughing, cheering, and shouting-out at the same time as the sighted audience-members. So, for me the answer is a resounding “Yes!”  It works and it was a buzz exploring a new art form that’s not usually accessible to blind and vision impaired people. I’d definitely go again and I can’t wait for audio described Cirque du Soleil later this year. 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The D*List Delivered!