It might be reasonable to expect some spring-like weather at the end of a 6 week cabaret season that started in early February, but this wasn’t to be despite the official arrival of spring earlier in the week and the start of British Summer Time earlier the same day. The skies over Lauderdale House were leaden and the temperatures chilly and it wasn’t surprising to see the still bare trees swaying beyond the windows.

The first act of the afternoon was Chris Coleman. With much of the success of a cabaret act relying on the choice, as well as the presentation of the song, Chris produced a winning performance which skilfully combined a fine delivery of well selected material. He seemed equally at home with standards such as the opening ‘Falling In Love With Love’ to a wonderfully judged rendition of Peter Allen’s ‘I Could Have Been A Sailor’. The singer’s perfect sense of timing and phrasing as well as the skilled piano playing of Jonathan Best combined to produce a substantially enhanced dramatic effect.

An equally important factor was how inventively Chris used the space he was performing in, in one instance gazing out of the the window into the grey distance as he sung about finer days in Glocca Morra and then (surely the masterstroke, given the location of the show in a gallery space) performing a song about a compulsive ‘picture straightener’. This was an unexpected and wonderfully funny choice and it is doubtful there was a more appropriate choice of song in the whole cabaret season at Lauderdale House.

Chris is likable, has a vulnerable and expressive air and with experience gained from a number of major West End musicals under his belt, combined with the ability to produce a show of this quality, there is no reason why he cannot be a big star.

Talking of big stars, the second half of the show was devoted to the Killer Soprano herself - Rosie Ashe! Taking time off from her hectic schedule in the role of Felicia Gabriel in ‘The Witches of Eastwick’, Rosie presented a show bubbling with energy and enthusiasm, like a schoolgirl mischievously playing hooky for a day. Felicia would probably have found it utterly disgraceful, which probably goes a long way to explaining why it was so entertaining for the rest of us!

The eclectic mix of material kept the audience on their toes and demanded their attention, just as it should do in an effective cabaret act. Given her many talents, it’s surprising Rosie hasn’t appeared in a greater range of musical roles. Fully demonstrating her gifts on this occasion was the rather touching simplicity of a song cut from the original production of ‘Sweet Charity’ and a rather more melodramatic one from the forthcoming production of ‘Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?’

Also mixed into the act were songs in German and French, a gallop through the ‘Minute Waltz’ (don’t bother attempting it unless, like Rosie, you have excellent enunciation!) and reflections on the consequences of PMT. The songs themselves were interspersed with jokes and comic stories. The set closed with a song recorded, but not released, by Dusty Springfield. ‘Dusty meets Bach’ as Rosie described it.

An encore was provided with the entirely appropriate ‘The Killer Soprano’ and just to make sure we were paying attention right to the very end, a version of Tony Hatch’s ‘Downtown’ sung in German, bringing to an end an afternoon of great fun and musical flair which closed the season with panache.

Congratulations are due to Tim McArthur and Dress Circle for all they did to make this exciting event happen. Following the tremendous success of this inaugural season at Lauderdale House, plans are now underway for another season of cabaret in the autumn. Watch this space!