Review of the musical comedy act's comeback show

Plenty of 1990s music stars are enjoying a late career resurgence on a wave of middle-aged nostalgia, so why not Supergirly? The Australian pop parody act - a stalwart of fringe cabaret around the turn of the millennium - is back with a new show after more than 20 years away.

Back in the day, Supergirly was a double act, invited to perform for the likes of Elton John and Madonna. Now Lulu McClatchy is a solo turn, without her erstwhile partner Jai Simeone. But otherwise very little has changed, not least the repertoire, still firmly routed in the 1990s. 

Some of the tracks here are from the old act, as are all of the comic sensibilities. Forget postmillennial comedy trends for self-analysis and identity… the jokes are mainly being rude about famous people. Madonna’s old, Oprah’s put on weight, Cher’s old and looks like a man. However, might be a bit rich likening the latter to a drag queen, since McClatchy shares the superior, disparaging attitude of the cattiest cross-dresser

Dressed in a spangly Primark version of Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack dress, she takes to the stage singing Let Me Entertain You, with ‘Me’ replaced by ‘Supergirly’. Much of the show revolves around lyric swaps, which isn’t a very creative approach  and means the same jokes are repeated verbatim every time the chorus comes around. However even if the gags get stuck in a rut, the music is effective – who doesn’t love a 1990s banger? – and McClatchy has a powerhouse voice with an impressive range.

Some of her gags require knowledge of the era, such as the difference between various members of Westlife or Steps –  which gives the show all the contemporary relevance of Crazy Frog. But they’re fun references for those steeped in the decade’s music, which seems to be most of her audience.

In some cases, she barely changes the lyrics at all – and that’s often funnier, mocking the original stars with their own words. No one has done more to mock James Blunt than James Blunt himself, but McClatchy has a bash, reimagining You’re Beautiful as the drunken slurrings of a bar-room pest. Meanwhile All Saints’ Never Ever becomes a silly half-assed impression, exaggerating the girls’ sultry, lazy drawl. When it comes to overblown parodies, McClatchy is certainly a decent mimic. 

Your Son’ll Come Out Tomorrow – one of Supergirly’s most dependable tracks from the old days – is a half-decent pun, even if she doesn’t go anywhere with the initial premise.   But she makes the odd choice to encore with the relatively downbeat Shallow, as Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper sang in A Star Is Born, with ‘shallow’ becoming ‘swallow’ in her simplistic reimagining. Her closer, I Still Call Australia Home, is a track that few Brits will recognise.

She performs with an overall sneer at the pop world, though clearly wants to be a part of it. Occasionally she displays a bit of the ‘FFS, have I got to plough through this shit again’ attitude, but it soon dissipates. For there’s no meta self-analysis of why she’s laying on the slap and sparkles to do this after so long. It’s not that sort of a show. 

Just pretend you’re at a Legends Of The 1990s tour and go with the vibe and you’ll be fine… just don’t go expecting much in the way of comic invention.

• Supergirly: Back To The Noughty 90s is at London’s Museum of Comedy on July 7- 9 and 13-15.

Review date: 6 Jul 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett