Salty Brine’s approach to his Living Record Collection series is to take a classic album and twist it almost beyond recognition. Despite the title, those expecting an Annie Lennox-style trip through the classic album Diva will be disappointed. But get over it pals, and open those minds, hearts and ears, because what we get instead is quite extraordinary. 

Brine pulls together threads from Diva, Judy Garland’s classic live album Judy At Carnegie Hall, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (a classic American novel that’s less well-known here) and stories from his own life to weave a genre-busting cabaret high on drama and power. There’s complexity as parallels are drawn between The Awakening’s protagonist and his own mother, who both spend a seminal summer almost marooned on an island. Heavy with symbolism, you can almost feel the steam rise in New Orleans, the cold strength of the rip tide and the slap of water against the tiles of the local swimming pool as Brine sings through the bars of several gilded cages.

But there are laughs too, particularly when interacting with the musical genius that is Ben Langhorst (beautifully supported by a live jazz quintet), and a gloriously camp shower scene (because that is where we sing). Brine mashes up and reinterprets at will; heavy on the power (those pipes!), there’s not a moment when he’s not in command of his stage. Then, the final thread snaps: ‘Hello Bluebird’ and ‘Mama’ interweave to become an entirely new creation, as Salty Brine breaks our collective hearts. 

Salty Brine: These Are The Contents Of My Head, Assembly Checkpoint, until 25 August, 9.05pm; main picture: Daniel Albanese.