The Tiger Lillies – Serenade from the Sewer at the Adelaide Festival was a performance of artistic eminence and a highlight of this year’s Festival
Presented by: Adelaide Festival
Reviewed: 5 March 2026
In front of the black curtain of Her Majesty’s Theatre, a grand piano is centre stage behind a seat, a piano accordion resting between them, a drum kit on one side of the stage with a bass on a stand and another seat on the other side with a bowed saw and theremin all ready for their players. The band members arrive on stage, their faces covered in their usual macabre clown-like white make-up with black painted lips and black skull eye sockets and eyebrows dressed in dapper suits with a look taken from the mid twentieth century, the drummer in a black skirt and long black socks. Band founder, Martyn Jacques straps on his small green piano accordion as the other band members ready and so begins a ninety-minute performance of absolute brilliance.
The Tiger Lillies were formed in 1989 by singer-songwriter Martyn Jacques in Soho. Jacques is now joined by bassist Adrian Stout who also plays the musical saw, theremin, jaw harp, and provides backing vocals with drummer Budi Buteno who also provides backing vocals. Their music has been described as British Brechtian punk cabaret, a term Jacques doesn’t like as they have nothing to do with the cabaret scene, he prefers the title “death oompah”. Their music is influenced by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf. Jacques also nominates other influences on his music like Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, jazz, blues, klezmer, rebetiko, and old Turkish singers. The result is an innovative blend of musical mastery. Jacques’ lyrics are often bleak, concentrating on drug use, prostitution, alcohol abuse, the worth of existence, sexual exploitation, death and murder, suffered by, as Jacques describes, “people living in the margins.”
The majority of the set was songs from their superb 2025 album Serenade from the Sewer which was recorded live in Bad Schallerbach, at Red Light Studio, Berlin, and Blurt Studio, London.
The songs recall Jacques’ time living in Soho in the 1980’s as he looked out of his window at the drug dealers, prostitutes, drug users and gangsters and the tragedies that befell them. The rest of the set was other band classics like the fabulous Heroin.Songs like Wished that you Were Here and Stabbed in the Back bounced along with the help of Jacques’ piano accordion and for others like Stupid Life the audience was encouraged to sing along. Other moments of sheer poignancy were achieved with Jacques’ poetic piano playing on songs like Rue d’Auseil, Violin Plays and the finale Birds Sing in Ukraine. Jacques’ piecing falsetto voice adds extra pathos to the songs.
As a band Jacques, Stout and Buteno are tight, echoing their many previous performances together. Throughout the performance Stout and Buteno injected moments of comic relief from the always straight-faced Jacques. Buteno’s drum solo in Stabbed in the Back was wonderful as was Stout’s bass, musical saw, theremin and jaw harp playing.
The Tiger Lillies have toured the world for thirty-five years, won Olivier awards, been Grammy nominated, and released over sixty albums. With seemingly nothing more to prove, The Tiger Lillies – Serenade from the Sewer at the Adelaide Festival was a performance of artistic eminence and a highlight of this year’s Festival/Fringe season.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Season: Ended
