Blonde Ambition

There are three production companies who have been instrumental in the Caledonian Cabaret Comeback: in Edinburgh, The Itsy Collective had brought alternative cabaret beyond the Fringe, while Blonde Ambition have expanded into a national powerhouse. In Glasgow, Rhymes With Purple have tethered their theatrical enthusiasms to ongoing variety programmes - both The Not So Secret Society and Dr Sketchy have allowed kept the vaudeville rolling - and stand behind the upcoming Cabaret Festival.

The lack of rivalry between these companies sees Blonde Ambition wholeheartedly joining in the Cabaret Festival programme: their Fringe flagship, Vive Le Cabaret, is visiting the west coast. Vive became the toast of 2010's Fringe (The Year That Cabaret Broke, featuring a great flame war over burlesque aesthetics, the debate that encouraged the Fringe to award cabaret its own, dedicated section of the brochure and the proliferation of variety nights and solo sit  rooted firmly in the cabaret traditions). Its association with the Pleasance saw it take on one of the Courtyard's larger venues in 2011, and solidify its glamorous reputation.

Promoter Julie Ann Laidlaw consciously harked back to both the French tradition of showgirls and glitz - recruiting Edinburgh jazz troupe Hustle as part of the core cast and featuring Gypsy Charms and Viva Misadventure - and the diverse booking of the Old Time British Vaudeville. Des O'Connor, the hardest working ukulele strummer still at large, established himself as the perfect, cheeky MC, both surprised at his fortune in being surrounded by sexy men and women and confident in his ability to guide the crowd through a thoroughly mixed bill.

The secret ingredient of Vive is consistency: having worked with the Kitsch Kats, O'Connor, Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer and object manipulator Mat Ricardo , Laidlaw ensures that Vive has a powerful core cast: from here the guests are a bonus. And by unashamedly aiming at the top end of the market, she is able to attract the big names, from Amanda Palmer to Camille, alongside up and coming stars and the occasional comedian.

Although it is supposedly impossible to review a constantly shifting variety show, Vive has a clear aesthetic: it's about glamour, it's mischievous, it is polished and the acts are skilled. That it has a clear identity, effectively preventing it from being interchangeable with other shows and undermining any possible sense of competition within the scene for audiences, Vive has targeted an audience and knows itself.