Hidden Sydney – The Glittering Mile

The only way to know what Kings Cross was like during its headiest days is to experience it. If you don’t have a time machine, then you can buy a ticket to Hidden Sydney – The Glittering Mile and spend 75 minutes in the volcanic core of Sydney’s wild, decadent past.

The show is a moving feast of cabaret/theatre with cast and audience relocating across four floors. It is unsparingly immersive and interactive.

“Not only is this fabulous because it moves throughout the venue, but we actually meet the people,” said Lauren Clair, who plays a Lady Of The Night. Her character is loosely modelled on real life Kings Cross identity Julie Bates, who acted as a consultant for the production. Bates worked for many years at The Nevada, the building in which the show takes place, now known as The World Bar. The Nevada was once a brothel with the much quoted distinction of having “the biggest bed in the Southern Hemisphere”.

Clair and much of the cast were enlightened by what Bates had to share about life in The Cross and in the sex industry.

“It’s much more varied than people realise,” said Bates. She has become a powerful advocate for the rights of sex workers and women, effecting significant changes around health and litigation, and she is still very politically active.

Asked about the show’s overtones, Clair replies: “The fact that we’re doing this at all is political.”

But she’s quick to point out that the show is all about having fun: “There’s some surprises. And not only that…a really saucy surprise.”

In a final word, Clair sums up the resilience of Kings Cross and its people:

“Unlike other areas of Sydney it really has held onto its spirit of arts and culture regardless of how the lockout laws have changed things.” (RB)

Sep 16–Oct 9, varied performance times. “The Nevada”, The World Bar, Bayswater Road, Kings Cross. $35-$45 (NB: 18yrs+ only). Tickets & info: www.hiddensydney.com.au

BY RITA BRATOVICH