Soho Electric is a cabaret night at the Phoenix Arts Club that promises a collision of rock, pop, drag, burlesque and circus. In reality, it is a little more chaotic than that description might suggest, but there is plenty of fun to be had along the way.

Vanity Von Glow is our host for the evening. At first, she seems somewhat insecure as both compere and drag performer. I was forgiving of this, assuming perhaps we were seeing fresh blood or even a relatively new performer, so it was surprising to discover in the second half that she has actually been performing for 12 years.

I’m usually not a fan of the traditional burlesque introduction asking an audience to “whoop and cheer”, but Soho Electric made me realise exactly why it exists. Von Glow leaves this out and, without that initial encouragement, the audience sometimes seems unsure how much noise it has permission to make. That traditional warm-up may be a cliché, but it gives patrons permission to let loose, something this show could use more of.

Our first burlesque performer, Demi Noire, is a lot of fun, with wonderfully exaggerated, almost cartoonish facial expressions. The number ends with a deliberately messy champagne moment, complete with umbrellas handed to audience members in the front row. It is a great idea, although sadly it isn’t quite as wild as it could be. There are no great champagne showers here and it doesn’t quite make the splash it promises.  It also leads to a lengthy clean-up, with Von Glow left filling time while the stage is mopped. For a venue with two performance areas, it feels like a missed opportunity. Better use of the second stage could mask clean-ups and scene changes and help the whole evening flow more smoothly.

Von Glow later performs at the piano, which is refreshing and showcases a different skill, alongside another vocal number. Both are slowed-down ballad arrangements and, with the addition of electric fans, there is something wonderfully Eurovision about it all. It is entertaining, although rather removed from the rock adrenaline suggested by the show’s advertising.

One act that really works is Petty Nonsense, the iPad clown, who mimes along to classic rock pop songs while interacting with both handheld screens and the video wall. Beginning with Queen, we see different singing heads appearing across the screens before the routine develops into increasingly inventive visual gags, including seemingly strumming the video wall using a pick on the handheld screen. The combination of video design and performance works brilliantly. I haven’t seen anything quite like it before, and it is easily one of the evening’s most original moments.

Katharine Arnold brings circus to the night with a skilfully performed aerial hoop routine. Strangely, the set-up even jokes that there is little jeopardy because the Phoenix Arts Club doesn’t have the usual height for this kind of act. It doesn’t diminish Arnold’s obvious talent, although perhaps it reduces some of the awe factor. Performed to a version of “Boring”, the relaxed musical choice works nicely with the routine’s nonchalant ’90s rock-star feel, even if it doesn’t give the evening the burst of energy it perhaps needs at that point.

Elsewhere, Soho Electric increasingly becomes the Vanity Von Glow show. A lengthy panto-style audience interaction sees her asking for celebrations and chatting to individual audience members while an instrumental version of Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” plays, with Von Glow joining in for the title line. The joke works initially, but when the track is played again in full it becomes more tedious than entertaining. Another guest mentioned that they had seen the show previously and it had been much better, which made me wonder whether some of this extended interaction was covering for an absent act.  This is particularly noticeable after the interval, when there are more songs from the compere than guest acts. Mx Ruby Wednesday joining Von Glow for “Back to Black” brings a welcome additional voice, although their appearance is brief. Even the bar manager gets involved at one point. There is something endearingly ramshackle about it, but increasingly it feels less like a variety show and more like a ‘Vanity’ project, with a few headline acts brought in to draw the audience. At times, this feels like a compere show with a handful of acts added, rather than a cabaret led by its variety performers.

A guitarist adds something to the sound, although I wanted the bass turned up and the music pushed harder. For a show selling itself on rock attitude, much of the music leans towards glam rock and slowed-down indie-pop ballads rather than anything particularly raw or rebellious.  Then comes Miss Jolie Papillon. She is absolutely to die for. This is old-fashioned, high-quality tease burlesque, delivered with confidence, glamour and precision. The costume alone looks as though it could have cost more than the rest of the production. It is a shame we only see her for one number because she instantly demonstrates just how captivating traditional burlesque can be.  Earlier, the audience is asked whether we prefer high art or trash. By the time Papillon arrives, we finally have the answer: this is unquestionably the high-class end of the evening.

There are other wonderfully chaotic touches. Meghan Reign incorporates fire into one number, although the lingering smell of burning hair afterwards is perhaps less glamorous than intended. The atmosphere throughout is often better than the performance itself, but there is still something enjoyable about the unpredictability of it all. The layout of the Phoenix Arts Club adds another complication. There are two main performance areas, one by the main stage and another in the centre of the room. I was close to one but regularly had to turn in my chair to see the other, so there probably isn’t one definitive “best seat”. When booking, I would prioritise overall sightlines rather than simply getting as close to a stage as possible.  There are also a few practical frustrations. Ordering through the app takes far too long, and adds a service charge while orders aren’t taken at the bar, which feels a little harsh, not necessarily because of the amount, but the principle.

The evening finishes at around 9.30pm before a quick turnaround into a Sing Out, Louise! always a crowd-pleaser. Although guests are welcome to stay, the immediate rearranging of furniture and removal of staging makes it feel slightly as though we are being ushered out. Soho Electric could easily accommodate one more act and make the performance itself feel like a complete night out.

Ultimately, I had fun, and that matters. Soho Electric may lack some polish, and at times it needs stronger pacing, slicker transitions and a clearer personality, but perhaps embracing a little chaos is part of its appeal. Think of it less as a tightly constructed rock cabaret and more as a tasting menu of variety entertainment: some drag, some circus, some burlesque, some music and some wonderfully strange digital clowning.  Go with friends, treat it as the start of a night out and enjoy Soho Electric for what it is. When its individual acts hit, they really hit, and amongst the chaos there are flashes of genuine cabaret magic.