The Space Theatre was full for the Saturday afternoon performance of Libby O’Donovan & Michaela Burger: Short at Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026. The show had already sold two of its three shows by the festival’s opening night of the festival, a clear indication that these ladies need little introduction.
Libby O’Donovan OAM, named Cabaret Icon in 2022, first appeared at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2001. Michaela Burger has performed both of her award-winning shows Exposing Edith and A Migrant’s Son at past Adelaide Cabaret Festivals. Short marks their first collaboration, and, on this evidence, it should not be their last. The result is a tightly paced and vocally rich partnership, as dazzling as their gold sequinned costumes.
From their first entrance, O’Donovan and Burger command the room. Appearing from the back of the Space Theatre, Burger begins alone before O’Donovan joins her from the opposite side, the pair weaving Adele’s “Hello from the other side” into a playful exchange of “Where are you? I can’t see you!” The show’s self-aware humour and refusal to take itself too seriously are established from the outset.
They are accompanied by an all-woman band, with Ciara Ferguson on piano and impressive vocals, alongside drums, guitar and electric guitar. Randy Newman’s Short People with its deliberately provocative lyrics “short people got no reason to live” and “short people got nobody to love” is performed by O’Donovan with a sharp sense of irony. Burger’s exaggerated shocked face underscores the joke.
Short balances humour with genuine musicality. O’Donovan performs a heartfelt rendition of Somewhere over the rainbow nodding to Judy Garland (4’11 ½), while Burger shows off her French language fluency singing a moving La vie en Rose by Edith Piaf (4’10.)
The central premise: a celebration of shorter performers (with a playful nod to society’s bias toward height) is handled with wit. Referencing research “probably done by tall people,” the performers highlight advantages such as higher wages, leadership positions, and perceived authority. Short leans into intentionally terrible ‘short people’ jokes sourced online, making their very badness part of the comedy. The show cleverly reclaims the narrative, pointing to the dominance of shorter performers across the entertainment industry, and some of the benefits of being short.
A screen at the back of the stage shows images of the artists being honoured, with their names and heights appearing alongside them. It also features photo collages of O’Donovan and Burger with taller figures cropped out, playing on the show’s central theme.
There are also benefits of being short, perhaps it means these performers can still play their teenage dream roles. For Burger that was the musical Annie, which sees her launch into Tomorrow.
Throughout the show, themed medleys celebrate both short and tall performers. The “short men” medley ranges from Prince and Leo Sayer to Frankie Valli and Charles Aznavour, culminating in an unexpected and cleverly arranged a cappella version of AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long, joined by Ciara Ferguson. You will never have heard it quite like this before! O’Donovan and Burger do not discriminate against tall people. They even get their own medley! Think Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Cher, Adele.
The “short women” medley includes Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera (Burger delivering a powerful rendition of Beautiful, Stevie Nicks, and Chappell Roan, who are all 5’2; Lady Gaga at 5’1; and Sabrina Carpenter, Kylie, and Dolly Parton who are all 5ft.
A standout closing duet blends Libby singing Judy Garland’s Get Happy with Michaela singing Edith Piaf’s Non, je ne regrette rien. The two women honoured at the beginning of the show, are again honoured at its close. A final Wicked medley of For Good and Defying Gravity adds a theatrical flourish, referencing performers including Kristin Chenoweth, Cynthia Erivo, and Ariana Grande from the stage and screen versions
Short is a joyful and cleverly constructed celebration of performers of shorter stature, delivered with humour, style and vocal excellence. If this debut collaboration is any indication, O’Donovan and Burger should share the stage again, and soon.
5 CROISSANTS
Matilda Marseillaise was a guest of Adelaide Cabaret Festival
The Adelaide season of Short has now concluded.
