Cabaret & Poetry
Life Begins!...
(2008)
Jenna Monroe & Sue Pearson
St Mary's Church Hal, 5th May: 8:15 PM. £5.00
A night of cabaret at St Mary’s Church which brought together the quirky poetry of Sue Pearson, with the ethereal music of Astra and the opera-meets-musical-theatre style singing of Rachel Weston.
This was certainly an eclectic night and the rotation of acts was very effective in keeping the audience’s attention and engagement over the two hours. Set in a dimly lit hall at the back of the church it was an atmospheric and intimate gathering which never failed to surprise, culminating in the poet, Sue Pearson adopting the, slightly daunting persona, of the ‘Peut Poet’ or ‘Poet Slut’ for the final section of the evening; an episode which will no doubt stay with the audience for a while, (it’s not every day you get a French Prostitute delivering a poem about her favourite bath-time antics in the back of a church in fishnet stockings!)
For her part Rachel Weston sang a range of covers including ‘Summertime’ and ‘Don’t Tell Mama’ from the musical Cabaret with an impressive voice which effortlessly filled the hall, and then some. Her stage presence and pre-ample were most engaging and the performance of these ‘big songs’ complemented the theatrical mood set by Sue Pearson’s poetry.
The highlight of the night, however, was without a doubt, the collection of original songs by Brighton based singer-songwriter ‘Astra’. Throughout several dispersed sections of performance, and despite a somewhat shaky sound-system, Astra kept the audience entranced with her music which somehow manages to touch on the painful yet beautiful, aspect of being alive. Negotiating her way through the set by switching between keyboard and guitar, Astra showed herself to be of diverse talent and considerable skill. It is rather impossible to describe the gravity of her paradoxically angelic voice with its dulcet and soulful tones, which often sent a shiver down the spine. It is a shame that the sound system being a simple small amp, and the lack of sound technician to address the levels, meant that her voice was not done justice in what could have been a perfectly peaceful and attentive location to appreciate it fully. As a final compliment, her lyrics leave themselves vulnerably open in a way that is rare to find, with a raw honesty and fragility, which in listening to, you begin to emotionally mirror; feeling uneasy at moments, but held tightly in the music, soothed by the voice, and unable to tear your ears away.
[Alice Trueman]
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