Unsurprisingly Britney Spears: The Cabaret does exactly what it says on the tin, telling the tale of the world’s favourite pigtailed schoolgirl turned celebrity car crash via acoustic cabaret arrangements of her biggest hits, and the excellent satirical skills of writer and director Dean Bryant. Surprisingly, however, it also touches your heart.
Seamlessly brought to life by Christie Whelan Browne (The Rocky Horror Show, Xanadu) – hats off to her here for capturing that accent – the character of Britney Jean Spears stands, sits, sings, tap dances and baton twirls alone onstage, bar grand piano accompaniment in the form of musical arranger Mathew Frank. We meet child Britney, forced to the stage by a dominating mother; teenage virginal Britney broken hearted by once love of her life, Justin Timberlake; all the way to recovering Britney, hair regrown and kids back in her custody. All, of course, interjected with piano score versions of her most renowned pop classics.
And what versions! Giving ears more time and less distraction to hear lyrics, arranged perfectly and sang with appropriate gusto to tell this particular story, you’ll have to have a heart of stone not to feel for poor Brit. But with just the right amount of slapstick and the superb acting skills of Browne, you’ll be pulled back to laughing your tits off the moment anything gets a little too real. Because let’s face it, reflected in the Evian bottle shaped oddly like a half-litre voddie, the Spears story, while fabulously glittery, is undoubtedly sad.
It’s this combination of funny and misfortune that makes Britney Spears: The Cabaret a 70-minute performance I personally didn’t want to end. Britney fans: do not miss this (diehard fans pray for an aisle seat close to the front). Not a fan? You might just be after this fantastic performance.
5/5 stars
Britney Spears: The Cabaret is playing at Hayes Theatre Co until Sunday September 7.
