Presented by Wonderland Spiegeltent
Reviewed 12 March 2021
These two Divas, Beccy Cole and Libby O’Donovan gave a wonderful performance, no surprises there! They covered country and cabaret switching between themselves but commencing with their own contributions. To leave us in no doubt about their relationship Beccy introduced a song she wrote for Libby’s birthday, My Wife’s Got Balls. When discussing how they were ‘virginal’ when they met, the girls gave us a song which disclosed past dalliances, I’ve Had It…..
They reviewed where they came from, and what they missed – Libby sang Take Me Back to Broken Hill – and what they did in lock down, which resulted in admitting that they ate too much and wrote a song To Full to Fuck! All of this was received with much applause by the audience.
Talking about where they came from was a great segue into introducing Beccy’s mother, Carole Sturtzel, a well-known country artist. Carole treated us to a rousing version of Rockabilly Fever which belied her 70+ years. Cole and O’Donovan joined her on stage, making this a really special group.
O’Donovan treated us to a power ballad version of At Last (the song she sang at their wedding) displaying just how good her voice is. The girls then had fun with the Dolly Parton hit Jolene, even including an oz version (Noeline). All of this was backed by a first-rate band, Shireen Khemlani on bass, Ben Todd on drums and Alex Wignall playing up a storm on keys.
The piece ‘d resistance was their finale which covered country hits, show tunes, cabaret favourites too numerous to mention, with Cole and O’Donovan in a sort of duel to prove which music was best! My verdict would be that both are well worth listening to when sung by such great artists. You won’t be able to see this for yourself as there is only one more show and it is sold out but you missed a gem!
Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Twitter: @franeds
Venue: Wonderland Spiegeltent Festival Hub
Season:12 -14 Mar
Duration: 60 mins
Tickets: $45 – $50
Bookings: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/the-cowgirl-and-the-showgirl-ride-again-af2021
Rating out of 5: 5