★★★★ | Lady Rizo, At Soho Theatre, London
We are so lucky to live in London. The sheer range of entertainment this city offers is absolutely astonishing. On any given night, we are offered a bewildering array of choices, opera, ballet, theatre, whether it be mainstream or fringe.
There really is something for everyone. It is surely the sheer richness of London’s cultural life that attracts artists from all over the world here. So it is that self-styled New York entertainer, dream maker, chanteuse and superstar Lady Rizo is visiting London to take up residency in the Soho Theatre’s intimate downstairs cabaret space until January 4th.
Taking in a wide range of material, Lady Rizo lends her powerhouse vocals to such classics as Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale” and the seasonal “The Christmas Song”, as well as contributing some of her own songs from her own album “Violet”. With a nod to the festive season, she even puts her inimitable stamp on a bluesy rendition of Adolphe Adam’s “O Holy Night.”
Elegant, but engagingly wacky, she jokes with the audience between songs, at one point stuffing most of her fist into her mouth as she peels off her gloves in a comedy strip routine, though, like Rita Hayworth’s Gilda, the gloves are all that come off. Mid-way through the show, she entices an audience member on stage and gets him to help her change her dress behind a back lit screen, whilst he tells her the story of how he lost his virginity. It’s that kind of show. We soon feel like old friends. By the end of it, she has the audience eating out of her hand, and singing along with The Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”.
Big on personality, big on voice, this is one lady you shouldn’t miss, but get there early, or, even better, book, Tuesday’s performance was completely sold out.
Lady Rizo is at the Soho Theatre Downstairs until January 4th 2014
