Monty favourite performing in Sydney Fringe
Performer Philip de Villiers is a long-standing favourite at Sydney’s Montefiore care homes.
Philip de Villiers
He will appear for one night only at the Sydney Fringe Cabaret Club in the Castlereagh Boutique Hotel, in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.
Straight from the NAFA Fringe in Townsville, Philip shares his personal story in a cabaret bursting with showstoppers, bush ballads and cinema classics. Sing along to numbers like “Over the Rainbow”, “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Que Sera”. Escape to a world where love, hope and good cheer triumph!
Philip de Villiers is a seasoned showman who delights young and old with his versatility, musicality and quirky sense of humour. Since his arrival from South Africa seven years ago, he has performed more than 200 concerts in Sydney and appeared in stage productions such as ‘Baz and Bond’, ‘Fly Me to The Moon’ and ‘Comedy Tonight’ for the Mosman Musical Society. As seen on Channel 9’s “A Current Affair”, Philip made a breakthrough during the pandemic when he reached out to a worldwide audience with a series of bedazzling online concerts. Now he brings his joyful toe-tapping show to the live stage.
This new show had its beginnings in Townsville earlier this year when ‘SMILE’ was invited to the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA). Ahead of the fest, Philip funded the show with a 4-week promotional tour at retirement villages and playing accordion at night markets. One of the villages organised a bus to come and see his festival show, which brought him his first full house!
Now he’s repeating the formula, but on a grander scale, with a 40-day tour from Sydney to Melbourne and from there to Cairns – with ‘anchors’ along the way at the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane Fringe Festivals.
Along the route, he’ll be performing at retirement villages, aged care homes and public venues, connecting with communities and camping in exotic places!
Philip de Villiers said: “I started doing aged care shows in 2015, a few months after arriving in Australia, when an Israeli singer invited me to perform with her at the Burger Centre in Randwick. She was leaving for Israel, so the manager asked if I’d be interested in coming back to do my own show. Montefiore, the Jewish aged care home next door, heard about me, and the rest is history. I’ll never forget my first concert! One of the ladies, hair beautifully kept, cupped her hands and shouted, “ARE YOU MARRIEEEED?” I thought, ‘What a cheeky bunch!’ It was a match made in heaven and I became an institution at their campuses in Sydney.
“I’m originally from South Africa and haven’t travelled much by road in Australia,” says Philip. “So I’m very excited to connect with communities in regional towns and build relationships. I often describe my job to audiences as “making friends for a living,” so this will be taking it to a new level!”
Philip de Villiers in SMILE!
Fri 9 Sep, 8:00pm | 1 hour | Rated M
Castlereagh Boutique Hotel – The Sydney Fringe Cabaret Club
Tickets $30 – $35 Bookings and info: https://sydneyfringe.com/events/philip-de-villiers-smile/
