The Kermond 3 Gen Variety Show

There’s No Business Like Show Business for the Kermond family, and at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival there was no less than 124 years of showbiz experience on display. Such experience and passion for the creative arts are essential ingredients to a wonderful show, add to that a bucketload of humour, some slapstick, song, dance and costumes and you’ve got a winner!!

The Kermond 3 Gen Variety Show is a good, old fashion cabaret show. The promise of the show is made with Let Me Entertain You (both the Gypsy and the Robbie William versions), and the Kermond Clan never, ever disappoint. In the quickest 70minutes of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, this high-energy show goes from strength, to strength, to strength.

Warren Kermond, at 78 years (with new hips), is hilarious. He tapdances, he sings, and he successfully pivots the show between his son, Wayne, and his grandson Zan. As Warren performs Make ‘Em Laugh the boys combined with gags and slapstick. The combined family numbers like I Wanna Be a Dancin’ Man highlight the musical blend achievable within a family troupe.

But each Kermond had his chance to shine. Wayne Kermond’s defining moments were his rendition of The Candy Man and his father-son combination with Zan in Moses Supposes.

Zan, while not the strongest vocalist, is by far the benchmark for dancing. His superb Puttin On the Ritz showcased his true talent, and in his tap-off with Dad, there was a clear winner.

While each Kermond demonstrated their individual performance strength, the structure and flow of The Kermond 3 Gen Variety Show ensured that the family combination was more central than individual brilliance. They can all sing, they can all dance, and they come together to produce a great variety show!

Every element of this show was perfection, and the only disappointment was the size of the audience. In the Dunstan Playhouse there were about 70 lucky audience members – however, the applause and cheers was indicative of a much larger crowd. My hands hurt from clapping so loud and for so long. A class act like The Kermond 3 Gen Variety Show deserves rapturous applause and much better patronage!