Daniel Perks – Freelance Journalist
Category: Cabaret
Helga (Henni Kervinen) is a former star in her twilight years. She shuffles across her house in colourful woollens and silently reminisces about her heyday. The radio blares out nostalgic tunes that instantly evoke the impression that she has lived a full life – Life Of Diva Extraordinaire contrasts the mundanity of an old age daily routine with the energy of a vicarious youth in a pleasant one-hander.
To find out more about Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017 and the spotlights, please see the introductory article.
Next up in our Spotlight feature is Dumbstruck, which plays Edinburgh Festival until 27 August 2017. I caught up with writer and actor Sam Goodburn:
Camille O’Sullivan is gravelly, gritty and full of angst. She growls through a gorgeous set of songs by songwriters that inspire her – Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen top the list. It starts like a funeral wake, O’Sullivan clad in a velvet robe embossed with Bowie and Prince. But her voice reminds us not to mourn; instead we revel in the darkness she calls forth and rise up in solidarity and remembrance. Where Are We Now? is a set that purposefully lacks direction, the antithesis to a manufactured sound bombarding us in everyday life. The soul in this show is dark, but it’s oh so addictive.
If you find yourself anywhere in the vicinity of Reuben Kaye when he is performing, run. Run fast and don’t look back. If you make eye contact and the divine devil that is Kaye himself engages you with a sinister smirk, a heavily eyelashed wink and a seductive smile, you are lost to us all. His façade is an expressive cross between Liza Minnelli & Jack Nicholson and it’s been the end of many a man.
To find out more about Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017 and the spotlights, please see the introductory article.
Next up in our Spotlight feature is Kin, which plays Edinburgh Festival until 26 August 2017. I caught up with performer Beren D’Amico:
Culture by night 