Stage: Amy Winehouse: The Diva and her Demons – Rhumbelow Theatre, Umbilo
Final performance at 7pm today (August 31)
REVIEW BY BILLY SUTER
KERRY Hiles of East London has twice before wowed Durban audiences in more recent times, first with a terrific tribute to Judy Garland – an award-winning show she staged earlier this month at the Edinburgh Arts Festival – and then in an equally impressive production dedicated to the music of Eva Cassidy.
Now this talented singer-actress-bassist, sister of Durban theatre favourite Bryan Hiles, is back with another highly commendable show. Note, however, that she is in town for only two performances of a production that again emphasises her versatility, as well as her brilliance as a bassist and a vocalist that fully, beautifully, embodies the women she portrays.
Amy Winehouse – The Diva and Her Demons teams Hiles with drummer-backing singer Kristo Zondagh and excellent acoustic and lead guitarist Rob Thompson. The show was seen at the Rhumbelow Theatre venue at Northlands Bowling Club in Durban North last night and has a final performance at 7pm today (August 31) at the Rhumbelow Theatre in Umbilo. Tickets cost R150 each and booking is at Computicket or by calling Roland at 082 499 8636.
Voice and the beehive. . . a scene from Amy Winehouse: The Diva and Her Demons.
London-based and waif-like Winehouse, who died in 2011 of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, was so much more than just the towering, ratty beehive hairdo and Cleopatra-like eye make-up that became her trademarks.
She was a mesmerising performer with a powerful and expressive, deep contralto voice; a songwriter of note who, with only two albums to her name, earned 23 awards from 60 nominations, including six Grammys.
In depicting Winehouse’s rollercoasting life and times, Hiles, who also wrote the show, paints vivid vignettes of the diva’s battles with drink, drugs and lovers. With dialogue, song and deft switches of accents, Hiles offers a captivating chronicle of Winehouse’s rise and fall and, in a clever onstage costume change, marks the diva’s progression from her early career to her darker days.
The powerful Back to Black, the wonderful reggae-tinged cover of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, the fine Mark Ronson collaboration, Valerie, and, of course, Rehab are among the 12 songs performed in a show that unwinds at a slick pace over 65 minutes, without an interval.
Hiles’s versatility never fails to impress and her connection with the songs here, as always, is remarkable. She fully captures the magic and the angst of the Winehouse world, making this show a must for fans who appreciate the late diva’s deft mix of jazz, soul and R&B. See it!
.....SoSuterBill..... 