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A refreshing environmental take on classic cabaret from one of British musical theatre’s greatest stars.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Frankly, I would worry about your soul if you could sit through Janie Dee’s performance of ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ towards the end of her Beautiful World Cabaret without a delighted grin on your face. It’s an irresistible, beautiful moment in a cabaret performance that is not difficult to love throughout.
The ‘Beautiful World’ of the title refers to the natural world. Ms Dee, she tells us, has come to a recent realisation about how we’ve been treating the planet. Plastic is bad. Recycling, reusing and reducing is good. Yes, it may seem impossibly naive, but be realistic; you don’t turn to musical theatre, sequins and jazz hands for radical politics, do you? And cynicism is not a good look, folks. Besides, Dee’s polemic is so very gentle, and the argument provides a handy narrative around which to structure the show. And what a show it is.
Dee is the epitome of a safe pair of musical theatre hands: a dependable leading lady with a list of credits as long as your arm. During her performance, she casually mentions touring the world with Shakespeare’s Globe, starring in Follies at the National Theatre and performing in Old Friends, the recent West End Sondheim tribute show. In the Beautiful World Cabaret, a recent hit at The Edinburgh Festival, Dee combines exquisite performances of well-known standards and expertly judged comedy. There’s more experimental spoken word, poetry, and even some ambitious choreography, too. You definitely get your money’s worth.
The supporting cast is led by Musical Director Jordan Paul Clarke from behind the piano. Sarah Harrison plays the violin, leading virtuoso interludes from Bach, Vivaldi and more. Igor Outkine joins her with 1980s rock star stylings and a winning smile, having clearly, wonderfully, failed to get the memo about the accordion being an uncool instrument. Performers Sophia Priolo and Josephina Ortiz Lewis shine, too, combining duties as dancers and backing singers with welcome moments in the spotlight of their own.
It’s a show of two halves. The first is more traditional, featuring a knock-out sequinned dress and plenty of highlights, including Peggy Lee’s ‘Fever’, lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and, delightfully, barbed wit with Tom Lehrer’s ‘Poisoning Pigeons in the Park’. In Act Two, Dee returns in black, and things seem more serious. Describing the content as committed rather than pretentious is probably more accurate, but there’s certainly more intellectual fare here. This includes a slightly earnest, humour-free ode to how trees grow and communicate, which is the only time things seem to drag. No matter, because soon everything joyfully comes together again at the finale, with everyone involved in bringing Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherwin’s effortlessly romantic ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ to life, which is where, dear reader, I believe we came in.
Janie Dee’s Beautiful World Cabaret is a delightful and heartfelt affair that balances music, comedy, theatre, poetry, and sincere personal environmental messages. Dee showcases her immense talent but doesn’t only give us easy crowd-pleasers. She could simply sing Sondheim all day for my money, but that would not be half as memorable. Supported by a skilled cast, she gives lucky audiences more, delivering cabaret that’s artful, genuinely affecting, and certainly worth catching if you can.
Written & Directed by: Janie Dee
Musical Direction by: Jordan Paul Clarke
Set Design by: Ian Nichols
Violin played by: Sarah Harrison
Accordion played by: Igor Outkine
Janie Dee’s Beautiful World Cabaret runs at the Jermyn Street Theatre until 28 September.
Further information and booking details can be found here.
