The Girls From Oz – Because, Because, Because, Because, Because… at The Other Palace, London and then at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (theSpace @ Symposium Hall).
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
On a sweltering night in London, had this been an alfresco performance, antipodean-style hats with dangly corks would have not looked out of place, given the obvious Aussie theme.
As it was, the cool studio space proved the ideal venue for The Girls From Oz (Kara Lane, Mandy Meadows and Ashleigh Fleming) – as feisty a female trio as you’ll see on stage, emerging in vibrant shimmering green costumes like three manic mermaids, with naughty twinkles in their eyes and a steely determination to entertain. London-based and all professionally trained in musical theatre they’re not so much Bond girls as Bondi beach.
The minus here is that there’s scant original musical material, but the plus, and it’s a big plus, is that instead you get original, impressive takes on numbers like the Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin’ Alive’ (arrangement by James McCullagh) with great harmonies. There’s also enough robust, ladette banter in-between numbers to jolly things nicely along.
Those in the audience not from the ‘land down under’ (cue another familiar cover) could feel slightly excluded by some of the in-jokes, so thankfully there’s even a quick lesson in Aussie-speak in the name of cultural inclusion.
Being the London gig before their stint in Edinburgh, the trio had clearly taken the decision to pad this particular show out a bit. As pleasant as it was to listen to Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood’ (arrangement by Gemma Hawkins) performed by an add-on, brightly costumed and very bubbly female trio, then a founder member of The Girls From Oz, Simone Craddock singing her latest iTune single, ‘No Big Deal’, such distractions only serve to dilute the impact of the core three artists.
In truth, The Girls really don’t need any superfluous support, not when have the likes of the impressive Mandy Meadows is in such fine comic fettle during a version of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’.
Keeping it tight, focused and putting just Lane, Meadows and Fleming in the spotlight for the whole show would be a much better bet come Edinburgh you feel.
Derek Smith
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