Performance Review

At first sight the stage of The Music Room appeared to be so cluttered with musical instruments of various kinds that there was barely room for Issy herself. Not that the lack of space caused any problems since on more than one occasion Issy decided to wander around the room bringing her singing closer to the, sometimes stunned, members of the audience.

Is Issy a singer who acts or an actress who sings ? At the end of the day does it really matter since her act requires her to incorporate many of her skills in order to successfully bring off some of the chosen material. To say the material was mixed would be an understatement, with songs being drawn from all manner of sources. From songs in Dutch to Disney, with ABBA and Cole Porter thrown in variety was certainly a key factor in this performance. On paper some of the choices may seem strange, but seeing them performed live allowed an insight into why they were chosen in the first place. It certainly kept the audience on its toes wondering what on earth would be next.

Cabaret works well when it provides contrasts, a quirky comedic number followed by a heartfelt rendition of an emotional song. Sometimes at the beginning of a song it wasn’t always clear what the intention was, this provided an added dimension as it was necessary to pay full attention and be prepared to go with whatever transpired. So it was that the wonderfully comedic ‘Yodelling Goldfish’ was immediately followed by a moving and inspired trio offering of ‘The Corner of the Street / St Lazarre / Love For Sale’

Other highlights of the evening, (of which there were many ) included: Janis Ian’s evocative ‘In The Winter’ and ‘Ten Cents A Dance’ which started with Issy singing quietly sprawled across the piano and built subtly and almost imperceptibly to a full throttle belt that could probably be heard on the other side of the park.

This was inventive, contemporary cabaret at its best that fizzed along building up a head of steam as it went, which gave every indication that there is no reason why this style of entertainment need not survive well into the new century . The aforementioned vast array of musical instruments was fully utilised by the Millennium Combi consisting of Paul Stevens on woodwind, Neil Rowland on drums, and Don Richardson on bass and full marks must go to the incredible musical director and pianist Martin Lowe, some of the arrangements used were absolutely stunning and played with great sensitivity.

The evening closed with a beautiful, well-thought out working of Kurt Weill’s ‘Lost in the Stars’ It had been four years since Issy’s last visit to The Music Room. Hopefully it won’t be as long before Issy returns doing what she does best.

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