Paul Boylon has watched a lot of cabaret.

As the former owner of the old La Boheme on Grote Street, he hosted more than 800 floor shows across the 14-years the small bar’s doors were open.

“Cabaret is more a style of performing rather than a particular performance genre,” says Paul.

“It’s in an intimate setting, there’s a connection with the audience and what that sort of helps evoke in the performer and their performance is something a little bit different every time the show runs.

“You can see the show three times, but it will be a little bit different each time. That is the capital ‘C’ in cabaret.”

That’s exactly what audiences can expect from next month’s Cabaret Fringe, Paul says.

Now in its 22nd year, the 10-day festival boasts a stellar line-up of big-name acts, headlined by comedian Fiona O’Loughlin. Expect serpent dancers, burlesque acts and some tribute shows.

The brain child of the late Frank Ford, the event was conceived in 2001 as an ‘enfant terrible’ sibling to Frank’s other event, the much-grander Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Cabaret Fringe was seen as an experimental platform for artists, who could cut their teeth on the stage to adoring fans who were just eager to see something new and different.

The festival came and went over the years, until Paul, along with two other partners, revived it in 2008. They hosted the grand return at La Boheme and the event grew to include surrounding venues, with more acts and more audience members lapping it up year after year.

“Cabaret Fringe is a different sort of animal,” he says.

“The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is sort of about international acts and bigger Australian acts, so it’s not focussed solely on local talent.

“We just knew that there was a lot of people about and that there needed to be a space at the same time for them to get audience and show their wares.”

Paul owes the success of the event to Frank, who passed away in 2018. As well as founding both festivals, he was also the inaugural chair of the Adelaide Fringe.

“He was a massive supporter of South Australia artists and had a big belief in the quality and the talent that was here,” Paul says.

“He’d been everywhere and he knew that South Australian artists could hold it up to anyone in the world.”

The Cabaret Fringe Festival runs from today until 13 June at various venues.

By Kurtis Eichler