Seemingly everything is being turned into a musical these days – plays, films, even court cases – but this is something else.
Kate Butch’s singular vision for Wuthering Shites needs a leap of faith from the audience to book, but it seems the answer to whether we need a crossdressing comic to create a jukebox musical based on Kate Bush’s back catalogue is: hell yeah.
Butch is playful, clever, and very funny as she riffs on the singer-songwriter’s life, lyrics, and liminal music videos. It’s an affectionate but ruthless interaction: where she strips back the comedy to sing a couple of numbers her love for the music shines through. But that is quickly interrupted by sharp gags about the impenetrable meanings of Bush’s lyrics, or her mystic and mysterious ways.
For a show so fiercely focused on Bush, it still does a good job of entertaining those with only the scantest knowledge of her oeuvre (and if you’ve only heard of her because of Stranger Things, I’m looking at you) but with deeper digs for the fans too. And, yes, this is drag so the comedy is pretty ribald in places: though mostly more cheeky than out and out rude.
Ciara O’Connor gives a gentle warm up as support. Her delivery doesn’t have the highest energy – especially put side by side with Butch.-There are some good jokes, the routine needs just a little more pace to keep the laughs building.
- Kate Butch: Wuthering Shites is touring nationally.
