Arts

Adelaide Cabaret Festival Review: Lady Beatle

‘Lady Beatle’ provides the classic hits from the most famous band in the world, The Beatles, as they are re-imagined in jazzy, powerful and even sometimes heartbreaking renditions.

Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed 9 June 2017

Lady Beatle provides the classic hits from the most famous band in the world, The Beatles, as they are re-imagined in jazzy, powerful and even sometimes heartbreaking renditions.

The show covers a huge array of the classic songs we all know and love; from the depressingly beautiful Eleanor Rigby and wistfully dream-like Blackbird, to the up-beat crowd favourite Yellow Submarine, as well as creatively put-together mash-ups that sample songs from The Beatles catalogue of over 200 original works (the show is only an hour).

The talent of lead singer/cabaret phenomenon/theatre performer Naomi Price (The Voice Australia) is undeniably impressive, providing one of the best renditions of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds that you may ever hear. Price’s incredible ability to have the audience jumping out of their in seat in excitement one minute, and then choking on tears the next demonstrates her ability to truly control the show, providing the audience with a rollercoaster of emotions.

The band, who are suitably referred to as Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, provide a high quality addition to Lady Beatle, alongside Price’s impressive vocals, and give it their all while tackling some of the most beloved songs in the world.

Unfortunately the show’s somewhat bizarre storyline doesn’t match the high standard of the lead singer and band’s extremely talented performances. At first it appears that the audience will be taken on a tour of the history of The Beatles in-between songs, but this then diverges into a story  that focuses on a young person (possibly the lead singer?) who has been powerfully influenced by the mega-star band. This then confusingly changes again into an emotional remembrance of The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, who tragically died at the young age of 32 due to an accidental overdose in the midst of Beatle-mania.

Although the in-memorium is a lovely tribute that gives an emotional sense of purpose to the performance, it comes out of nowhere with no real previous indication within the show that this was where it was heading. Unfortunately this confusion takes away from what could have been a deeply emotional tribute performance.

Despite the inconsistent storyline, this is a definite must-see for Beatles fans Adelaide-wide as Lady Beatle provides a fun and jazzy take on classic Beatle’s songs that will have you dancing in your seats.

Reviewed by Georgina Smerd
Twitter: @Georgie_xox

Rating out of 5:  3

Venue:  Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide CBD
Season:  9 – 11 June
Duration:  70 mins
Tickets:  $41.90 – $61.90
Bookings:  http://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au/events/lady-beatle/

 

 

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