Laura Pitt-Pulford performed at Crazy Coqs, London as part of Janie Dee’s Beautiful World Cabaret season.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
In the closing moments of Laura Pitt-Pulford’s intimate cabaret she paid tribute to Janie Dee, who, in the performer’s words, put together this series of cabarets not to engender fear, but to raise awareness of the climatic challenges facing Planet Earth. In this context Pitt-Pulford put her family – husband (actor George Blagden) and four-year-old son Arlo – at the heart of her performance as a reminder of what generations to come may need to face.
An Olivier-nominated singer and actress who I had the great pleasure of seeing several times playing Trina in William Finn’s Falsettos, and later in the National Theatre’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Pitt-Pulford has a natural stage presence outside of the characters she portrays. She created a warm and relaxed atmosphere at Crazy Coqs, akin to an impromptu get together.
Opening with ‘It’s Today’ from the musical Mame as a reminder that it’s always later than we think, Pitt-Pulford followed with Jason Robert Brown’s poignant ballad about the pursuit of materialism and the disappointment it can bring, ‘Stars and the Moon’.
Continuing the theme, Sondheim’s ‘I Remember’, from his TV musical Evening Primrose about people imprisoned in a department store longing for a glimpse of the outside world, really showcased her beautiful lyric soprano. This was followed by a version, with slightly altered lyrics, of ‘Somewhere That’s Green’ from Little Shop of Horrors during which she accompanied herself on ukulele.
As we got to know more about Pitt-Pulford’s family, an anecdote about being proposed to on the top of a hill and the woodland wedding that followed led into ‘What a Wonderful World’. As she recounted a run through muddy fields towards the designated spot, her husband George walked forward to give us a rendition of Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, a tear-jerking moment, his warm baritone melding into a duet with her ‘Wonderful World’.
A change of pace came with ‘I’m Breaking Down’ from Falsettos and the classic ‘Autumn Leaves’ which never fails. The artist also shared that she feels comforted and at home in the mountains, singing ‘I Miss the Mountains’ from Next to Normal and ‘If the Stars Were Mine’ by Melody Gardot, a song new to me but one I’m glad to now be acquainted with.
Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now’ led to her final song, chosen by four-year-old Arlo from the animated film The Wild Robot.
Pitt-Pulford’s sincerity and commitment to caring about the future, family and community infused the evening with a real warmth. The vocals in her lower range, and when she used her beautiful head voice, had a particular impact.
Ably accompanied by musical director Ryan MacKenzie on piano and Saran Davies on cello, with husband George’s vocals and guitar on occasion, it was a delightful homespun evening, encapsulating the importance of us caring for each other and for the world we live in.
Leon Ferguson
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.