Review of Sarah-Louise Young's heroine-worshipping cabaret show

Is this a Kate Bush tribute act?

Not quite. Cabaret stalwart Sarah-Louise Young injects enough narrative elements and authentic heroine-worship into her adoring homage to make it more than a one-woman jukebox musical. But probably not quite enough to ensure its appeal beyond the Bush fans known, apparently, as Fish People,.

The songs remain the selling point. Of course they’re brilliant – and you might have forgotten just how many classics the reclusive, quirky genius has in her back catalogue. Young not only has a powerful, versatile voice able to faithfully mimic Bush’s distinctive vocal acrobatics, but she’s a strong physical presence, too, capturing the idiosyncratic choreography and artistic eccentricities that mark her idol out as a true original.

Beyond that, the show’s appeal is a little sketchier. It’s buoyed by Young’s ebullience towards her subject and gentle ribbing of Bush’s otherworldliness and the peculiarities of her fans, but there’s not much depth.

At one point, Young recalls her first attempt at impersonating her heroine on stage, aged 13 at the school assembly, which did not impress her traditionalist teachers. But even this is a bit of a throwaway moment. Other numbers are performed as the stage cleaner who got to watch the icon rehearse for her 2014 Hammersmith Apollo comeback, the very first Kate Bush tribute act, and Lindsay Kemp, the mime artist who so influenced her style.

There’s not a great deal to these alter egos, but they do offer a way of interpreting each song in a different, visually striking way, maybe with a costume change and usually with a dash of humour. The proper Russian version of Babushka is a stand-out. If you want Bush’s impressive back catalogue – Cloudbusting, Hounds of Love, Running Up That Hill and all the rest – performed with a creative twist, you’re in the right place. Cheap but impactful prop tricks work wonders,too.

Although this is firmly a cabaret show, not a comedy one, Young provides a frequent undercurrent of jokey bonhomie. No zingers, but cheeky asides, delivered lightly yet effectively to charm the audience. She needs to because this is that dreaded phrase: ‘an interactive show’. But Young is a super-encouraging generator of good cheer, the sort of jaunty presence who will always tell us how marvellous we’re doing as a crowd or as individuals, regardless of what  the evidence says.

Sometimes the tone takes a turn for the more serious, especially with a sentimental commentary to Don’t Give Up which amplifies its cautiously optimistic message and portraying it as emblematic of how music brought people together over lockdown. That sentiment might be a little bit overblown, but we go with it.

In fact, we go with everything, emerging into the street with a smile and  a head full of Kate Bush songs.There can’t be much wrong with that.

• An Evening Without Kate Bush is at the Soho Theatre until February 26. Tickets

Review date: 10 Feb 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett