Amelia Ryan is accustomed to accidents, inclined to insult, prone to gaffs, whoopsies, and boobies. Or so we are told, as it's hard to believe when she puts on such a slick hour of entertainment.
If you ever wondered what Kylie Minogue would be like if she was funny, Amelia Ryan is the answer.
The show follows Amelia’s life from youth to the present day told through anecdotes and songs. Different stages are denoted by the clever use of a gradual costume change. The stories, sadly, can be flat and are often just a way to provide a link to the next song – which leaves them serviceable but lacking in clarity or snappy zingers. Some jokes failed not because they are bad, but because they were not presented with the confidence to pull them through.
A Storm in a D Cup really comes together when Amelia sings, she is gifted with an amazing voice and her rhythm and timing are impeccable. The songs are mostly other people's with reworked lyrics, so you are familiar with them, but you can see a punch line long before it arrives.
An early song, 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up, is meant to wow us with how she has come to terms with her dad’s sexuality. Perhaps the message falls flat because the audience feels that being ok with homosexual and transsexual relationships should be the default setting? But all the other messages of the show work well. It ends on a nice self reflective tone, which could easily have been quite schmaltzy but feels genuinely honest.
If you are a cabaret fan there is nothing new and exciting here, the shows follows the anecdote, song, anecdote, audience participation, song etc. structure. It's slick and clearly a lot of work has gone into it but the bits between songs are underwritten. If you ever wondered what Kylie Minogue would be like if she was funny, Amelia Ryan is the answer.