Sinatra: Raw - Review

Live At Zedel, London



****

Richard Shelton

Transferring to the capital from a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Richard Shelton’s tribute to Frank Sinatra makes for a fabulous evening. Accompanied by the excellent Michael Roulston on piano, Shelton adopts Sinatra’s persona for the gig - transporting the action to The Purple Room in Palm Springs and, in amidst a selection of the crooner’s greatest hits, delivers a well rehearsed and meticulously researched whirl through Sinatra’s life.

Shelton’s script touches on Sinatra’s youth, The Rat Pack, his (alleged) links to The Mob and JFK, as well as his politics and fierce support of America’s civil rights movement. There are moments perhaps when the narrative seems a little lengthy and self-indulgent, but these are more than made up for by Shelton’s sensational voice. The songs are classics, with the script offering occasional footnotes alluding to the numbers’ histories.

But for 75 minutes of mellifluous wonder, Sinatra: Raw cannot be beaten. Sit back as you sip on a vodka martini or scotch on the rocks and as Shelton sings, close your eyes, and Ol' Blue Eyes could be right there with you!

Runs until 20th January
Photo credit: Betty Zapata

La Poule Plombee - Review

St James' Studio, London

****

Sarah-Louise Young

Appearing as part of the (now ended) London Festival of Cabaret, Sarah-Louise Young's latest cabaret manifestation is a set entitled La Poule Plombée. Literally translated it means the "leaded hen", which offers a sardonic contrast to Edith Piaf's "little sparrow" (and of course sounds appetizingly like flambé too). However, Google a little deeper and one finds that Poule can also refer to a floozy or tart (human rather than pastry). And then remember that Young famously describes herself on Twitter as Cabaret Whore...

In this show however, Young is the very essence of pastiche as she dons the persona of an angst-filled chanteuse. Affectionately and perceptively mocking the chic French-diva genre, hers is no Piaf tribute gig.

A consummate professional, Young’s mask does not slip throughout. There may not be any personally revealing anecdotes here, but the 4th wall is cunningly and repeatedly breached as she rips up the entente cordiale with some deliciously credible swipes at British culture.

Young also brings an entertaining even if depressing mania to her act. Arriving on stage brandishing a large butcher's knife, the melodrama is played to hilarious effect - the knife gag leading into a song about a traumatised butcher's daughter, whose pet pig is slaughtered by her father. Nice.

Other numbers touch upon the Little Black Dress as well as an affectionate play on the word Encore that closes the set, keep the wit razor sharp while occasional moments of audience participation are managed perfectly by Young who never once lets good-humoured embarrassment slip into rank humiliation.  

With musical director Michael Roulston as deeply immersed in playing a supporting role as Young, the pair's banter may lack spontaneity, but it is polished to perfection. Young's mastery of the genre is up there with the best and it is a real treat to be offered a show that is so distinctly original.

Julie Madly Deeply - Review

Crazy Coqs, London


***

Sarah-Louise Young

Julie Madly Deeply is a technically brilliant performance from Sarah-Louise Young that charts the life of possibly the queen of our national treasures, Julie Andrews.

A self-confessed fan and devotee, with a knowledge of both Andrews' life and repertoire that is arguably unsurpassed, Young's whirlwind performance has criss-crossed the Atlantic, with this three day residency at The Crazy Coqs marking the show's return to the capital.

Accompanied by Michael Roulston on piano, the act, even down to the patter, is meticulously rehearsed and delivered - and as a modestly-sized stage show Julie Madly Deeply deserves its acclaim. But as a cabaret act it misses the mark. Good cabaret should work around the fourth wall but here, and almost throughout, a bewigged Young hides behind that blasted wall giving us little more than a virtuoso acting performance, even if she does occasionally lapse into a hybrid of Princess Diana crossed with Norman Bates.

Notwithstanding that Young's flawless singing and mimicry is spot on (her Liza Minelli is a treat) there is virtually no spontaneity to be found here, nor much sincere interaction with her audience. And over those late night cocktails and g&t's, does one really need, for an eleven o'clock number and with a heartbreaking accuracy, an impersonation of Andrews' latter day voice, ravaged following her vocal-chord surgery, singing a plaintively muted Edleweiss? I'm not so sure

On twitter, Young sports the disarmingly self-deprecating title of Cabaret Whore. Actually, with her direction of the sensational Miss-Leading Ladies barely three months ago, she has proved she's a cabaret genius. Julie Madly Deeply is a finely honed work of musical and theatrical excellence that would be best served the other side of Piccadilly Circus amidst the bijou intimacy of the Jermyn Street Theatre. But as cabaret, it’s whored.

Runs until 14th November