Julie Madly Deeply – Trafalgar Studios

Julie Madly Deeply continues at Trafalgar Studios, London until 4 January.

Julie Madly Deeply is an incredibly funny show about one woman’s utter devotion to Julie Andrews.

From the moment she begins her rapturous recollection of Andrews’ concert at the O2 in May 2010 – which many thought was a bit of a dull dud – it is clear that Sarah-Louise Young is an Andrews super-fan. If she can remember the O2 concert fondly, then it must be true love.

Indeed Young’s show is certainly one for real fans of Andrews’ work, in all its life-affirming, sugar-coated glory.

But as well as being almost alarmingly in awe of Dame Julie, Young is an entertaining performer and, although her voice doesn’t quite match up to her heroine’s in its heyday, she is a charming and amusing leading lady.

Accompanied by her rather droll pianist, Michael Roulston, who displays a great deal of comic timing himself, Young delves into much of Andrews’ back catalogue, as well as revealing entertaining nuggets about her childhood, early career and later years as a confirmed ‘national treasure’.

Dressed throughout the first half in a Maria Von Trapp-style blue dress, Young’s cropped Maria wig is a little annoying, but it is there for comedy value and emphasises the ludicrous lengths Young will go to feel at one with her heroine.

But Young can diversify too – her Liza Minnelli impression, which is so well-received, is divine, and her take on Audrey Hepburn is both stunningly accurate and hilarious.

Donning an outrageous Sound of Music coat (complete with snow-covered mountains sewn around the hem) for Act II, many of Andrews’ career decisions are explained and examined by Young, who attributes some of the Dame’s strange choices to the influence of her second husband Blake Edwards. Yet, given that The Sound of Music is one of her biggest hits, it seems strange that Young only devotes a comparatively small amount of time to talking about the making of the film, which was released in 1965.

At one hour 25 minutes, the show feels a little too long, but the final singalong is a treat and gets everyone involved in classics such as ‘Sixteen Going On Seventeen’, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’.

Overall, the show, directed by Russell Lucas, is incredibly light-hearted and verges on bunny boiling levels of devotion at times, but it is a great tonic if you are feeling blue and are in need of some ‘raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…’

Catherine Usher