Review-Bisous Follies-Bisous
21-10-12
Bisous is a lounge bar in Central on Wellington Street. I was intrigued by it when I heard they do a standing follies show several nights a week. Rep entertainment is few and far between in Hong Kong so I hauled down to Bisous to check out the Follies girls. Performing four times a night on Wednesdays through Saturdays, the Follies are your typical showcase show. It's nice to see a bar in Hong Kong doing a glamorous showgirl revue as part of their standard entertainment. House bands are so last season and everyone loves a girl in a sparkly leotard.
The Follies are three girls. The show opens up with a girl dancing in classic film noire "boom boom" shadow to club music. This is a nice way to open up the revue. I wish that Bisous would really commit to its noire theme and choose different music. Hearing Flo-Rida while you're looking at a club that is so beautifully designed in the forties style is very jarring.
The music and costume choices that the girls choose for their numbers are of different styles for different pleasures. I appreciated that they chose to do the Rich Man's Frug from Sweet Charity for their Fosse style number. I liked that the girls had great expression when performing even while performing to an almost empty house. A difficult task for any performer. There is no plot or characters in the production and each routine lasts about 10-15 minutes. You can stay at the bar and watch all three shows and see all different numbers.
I think what the show lacks is commitment. Either it needs to go full on Burlesque or it needs to be a Cabaret show with singing. Sitting in between the two themes muddies the water. Music choice is a big reason why the theme of the show appears hazy. The performers sometimes lip sync part of the words, as well. They need to commit and lip sync the whole song or not. They dance well and have great extension. It's a fun venue and a fun way to add a little spice to your evening.
Bisous Follies perform regularly on Wednesdays through Saturdays at Bisous. Go to Bisous' website for more information.
Comments
Sophie
I think it's a nice addition to the club. Would I pay for the show? No but it's nice to see something besides a house band in HK. The girls are really beautiful too.
25 October 2012