Cabaret Whore: Review

‘What is cabaret without pain?’ implored the knife-wielding French diva 'La Poule Plombee', one of three characters portrayed in Sarah-Louise Young’s 'Cabaret Whore'. A fitting closing statement for a performance which parodied the conventions of the genre with style, if not substance. A cocktail of anecdotal storytelling, music and dance which at times borders on the burlesque, cabaret is enjoying something of a rennaissance in comedy circles. Before travelling to the Edinburgh Free Fringe, the Camden Head was treated to a preview performance.


A foul-mouthed redneck porn star, a snooty librarian who idolises Jordan and an embittered Piaf-a-like paraded their loneliness, regrets and traumas through jovial song, before collapsing in tears under the weight of their pains. Young has a powerful voice capable of carrying her character's idiosyncracies; but whilst you couldn't fault the ability or indeed the effort, there was a feeling that 'the show' sometimes overshadowed the humour. Attempts at audience participation were met with uncomfortable silence. Social observation wasn't as clever as it thought. Though pain was the central premise of Young's charicatures, it was far from a painful experience. More an amusing spectacle that promised much but failed to deliver where it really mattered.

First published in Camden Fringe Voyeur