Crazy Christmas Cabaret presents ‘Mamma Mafia’
Glassalen, Tivoli, Vesterbrogade 3, 1630 Cph V; ends Jan 9, performances Mon–Fri at 19:30, Sat at 15:00 and 19:30; Tickets: 90–325kr; www.taiteatret.dk, www.londontoast.dk

Vivienne McKee is back and dazzling again in her gala frocks - all platinum blond, long legs and cleavage.  She clearly relishes doing the Crazy Christmas Cabaret (CCC) shows and is far from being jaded, even after 27 years of writing, directing and performing in them.  She’s the Mamma - slickly guiding the cast and audience through the show.

This year’s show, Mamma Mafia, is a send up of all things mob-related and is set in ‘Noo Yoik’ in the late 1920s. The script name-checks all the gangster flicks from The Godfather to The Sopranos so quiz fans will enjoy spotting the references.

Crazy Christmas takes its roots from pantomime, a distinctly English form of entertainment for the festive season.  McKee’s scripts adopt traditional ‘panto’ conventions such as the Dame (played by a man in drag), innuendo, slapstick, audience participation (note the ritual humiliation of a ‘good sport’ from the front row) and well-known songs with re-written lyrics.  What makes Crazy Christmas so special is that the format has been adapted into a uniquely ‘Danglish’ piece of theatre.  And that’s why CCC has become a Danish institution, as popular with pensioners from the Copenhagen suburbs as it is with the international community.

McKee’s script, performed as it is in English, reels in her Danish audience by gently ribbing them with plenty of insouciant references to local culture and politics.  Dr van Helsingsør (played by McKee) – the Danish face of CCC - works as a comedy device to ensure that the home crowd’s interest doesn’t wane; his lines overflow with Danish gags and ‘Danglish’ wordplays.

Andrew Jeffers reprises his role as the effervescent and fun-loving Dame, which he does so brilliantly.  This year he’s Mamma Calzone and appears in a selection of fabulously outrageous costumes.  Jeffers is larger than life and endearingly funny, injecting real energy into the show whenever he comes onto the stage.

The cast play multiple roles and at points, it’s tough to follow who’s who.  Elliot Russo, as Cappucino, does an amusing take on Al Pacino in ‘A Scent of a Woman’ while his Al Caprawn is ‘Tony Montana meets Joe Pesci as a bling Miami wiseguy’.  Of all the cast, he’s admittedly the only one who manages anything close to a consistent Mob accent.

The choreography in Mamma Mafia outshines previous years, with some enjoyable musical numbers.  There are mobsters doing a boy band take of ABBA’s ‘Money, Money, Money’, a Goodfellas striptease and a hilarious turn by the Dame parodying a recently deceased pop icon.

Which brings us to another ingredient of CCC’s enduring success … it is brimming with topical gags that keep the formula fresh.  This year, several politicians get a mention; there’s Silvio Bruschettasconi, Pia the Pitbull terrier and German Shepherd Messerschmidt.

Other performance highlights are David Bateson, a CCC stalwart, channelling Marlon Brando as Don Vito Calzone, and Bennet Thorpe taking inspiration from London’s East End gangsters for the part of ‘Tony Tivoli’.  Katrine Falkenberg’s terrific voice is again put to good use with a couple of real belters.

The beauty of CCC is in its predictability.  The formula is the same each year and many of the actors have returned. The plot is anarchic but the gags come thick and fast, and they are cheesy/saucy/ridiculous/sharp/vulgar/well-observed/hilarious (delete as applicable).  Crazy Christmas is what it says on the tin. It’s silly, seasonal and totally over the top. And Danish Christmas just isn’t the same without it.