Sarah Hester Ross: Serving Cunt cabaret review – Glistening, camp confidence
Sparkling with sequins, Sarah Hester Ross embraces her powerhouse vocals and vibrant energy in this cohesive and delightfully bold hour
Flippin heck, Sarah Hester Ross has got some set of pipes. She doesn’t so much enter the Gilded Balloon’s new Den space as explode into it, accompanied by a shower of feathers and C-bombs: subtle it ain’t, but hey, subtlety is seriously over-rated. This is an old-fashioned cabaret show in the best sense of the word; it’s simply staged, lots of audience interaction, and all backed up by the kind of voice that could easily reach out and crush the back row at Carnegie Hall. And her crowd loves her for it.
Aimed at the girls, the gays and the theys, if the title didn’t give it away the introduction of Ross’ witch-daemon Miss Andry more than nods towards a tone that is emphatically not for the lads. The lyrics to her mostly original songs are hilarious, particularly a little ditty built around the online abuse Ross gets and a song about being childfree: not nearly as divisive as it sounds once you’re through the video compilation that precedes it.
Yet, just when you think you’ve got the show’s sequin-soaked measure, things take a turn. An a cappella version of ‘The Day The Nazi Died’, followed by ‘My Mother’s Savage Daughter’ nails Ross’ colours even more firmly to the political mast. It’s properly exhilarating to see someone stand so confidently in their power, as she takes us to church with a final audience singalong of ‘Stop Giving Men Microphones’: also available in sticker form for the podcasters in your life if you feel like serving some cunt of your own.
Sarah Hester Ross: Serving Cunt, Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 4.20pm; picture: Ryan Hafey.