Joe Louis and Friends
Joe Louis and Friends is a late-night cabaret that bills itself as "THE perfect way to wrap up your evening at the Fringe World Festival.” I can’t disagree. A much gentler and relaxed way to round off your evening than the plethora of cirque and burlesque choices late at night, relaxing with excellent talent at the Ellington is hard to beat.
A little hard to review as the line up varies each night, what I can say is that the talented Joe Louis has many talented pals, keen to share the Ellington stage for your viewing pleasure. Joe Louis comperes and bookends the evening, with some fine song choices that will delight audiences. Likely to include something from the Eurovision catalogue (Joe Louis has a Eurovision obsession and his show Eurovisionary is also playing during Fringe), he makes clever and surprising choices.
The night I attended featured the lovely Lisa Woodbrook singing some Amy Winehouse and Michael Bublé, and showing talent that suggests her Fringe World show Millenial Hits of the 90’s and 00s will be superb.
Tyler Jacob Jones and Erin Hutchinson, fresh from the closing night of What Doesn’t Kill You (blah blah) Stronger, sang two of the "less savoury" numbers from their original cabaret. Beautifully performed and hilarious, it was a delight to see again, and the audience
The final guest that evening was Jens Radda, whose gorgeous visage currently features on the “Downstairs at the Maj” catalogue. A musical theatre talent whom Joe Louis jokes has crossed to the “dark side” of burlesque and cabaret, this beautiful drag queen can certainly bust out a tune, and her duet with Joe Louis was a highlight.
While your experience will vary, Joe Louis and Friends is a great bet for a fabulous time.
Kimberley Shaw
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