Paul T Davies reviews Zhooshy Cabaret at the Colchester Fringe Festival.
Zhooshy Cabaret, Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester Fringe Festival 4 Stars Colchester Fringe Festival Website Cabaret is an essential part of any Fringe Festival and combine that with the strong and talented local LGBTQ+ community, and you’re in for a terrific night’s entertainment. Staged at the beautiful and atmospheric Colchester Arts Centre, the local talent was out in force! Hosted by the inimitable Tracey Paper, (Dan Dellar Thompson), and having to deal with her disruptive sister Sugar Paper, (Lisa Warnock), the show celebrated all things Pride, but also had a sequence highlighting anti-LGBTQ protests and anti-Drag protests here in Colchester, a respectful nod to our history to the tune of Taylor Swift’s You Need To Calm Down. Sirena Hart provided live vocals, in particular a stunning version of Purple Rain, and local legend Shar Cooterie (accompanied by Adam Saiz Abo-Henriksen), sang two songs from her hit show Swung Low. Kenzie Blackheart shone as Shania, and travelled all the way from Basildon, sealing the internal flavour of the festival! It was a wonderful celebration for queers and allies and straights, truly inclusive, and a perfect showcase for local talent!
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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