★★★★★
ELTON JOHN – It’s A Little Bit Funny
Martin Kaye
gives a tour de force performance as Elton John in Katy Lipson’s new
production, Elton John - It’s A Little Bit Funny, currently playing
at Highgate’s Upstairs at the Gatehouse. It really is as simple as that. He is,
without a doubt, a consummate performer - musician, raconteur, comedian and
all-round unique talent.
It’s A
Little Bit Funny is a vehicle that has been created and cleverly crafted
specifically for him by writer, Chris Burgess. Ingeniously it tells the story
of Elton John through his extensive songbook, cleverly interwoven with an
incident in Las Vegas where Kaye bumps into the bespectacled star and happens
to spend the evening with him – a magical event that gives a golden chance to reminisce
about the night and Kaye’s life. Whether this is an entirely true liaison is
never made clear but under no circumstances let the truth get in the way of a
good story. And this is a good story!
Martin Kaye
is a seasoned musician and performer by his own admission - Manchester’s answer
to the Von Trapp family. Discovering his undoubted musical talent through his
love of Elton John’s work, he ended up in Las Vegas playing Jerry Lee Lewis in
Million Dollar Quartet. And this is when the alleged rendezvous took place at
Caesar’s Palace leading to a night of confessions, anecdotes, jokes, songs, and
the mystery of the lost mobile phone!
As
self-confessed biggest Elton John fan ever, Kaye tells the John life story
cleverly interspersed with his personal anecdotes with the great man. Much of
which is well-trodden, especially with the recent release of Rocketman and his
recent autobiography, Me. However I didn’t know at one stage Elton John’
records accounted for five per cent of global sales, and both Elton and Kaye
had a personal penchant for grey flannel trousers!
But at the
end of the day, we are there for the music. And Kaye does not disappoint. He delivers with superstar aplomb a set of over
30 songs in a unique, clever and sparkling two-hour one-man show. Directed with incredible pace by Ben Stock, with a stunning set by Ben Rogers, it is a rare
talent that can convincingly entertain an audience without any longeurs. I
haven’t mentioned any specific songs, but rest assured they are all present and
decidedly correct – even down to his Elton megamix at the end of the show, and
culminating in Your Song. Well, there's one!
Put simply,
Martin Kaye is a superlative entertainer - Elton would be proud!
Produced by
Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment
ELTON JOHN – It’s A Little Bit Funny
is playing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 1 March 2020
ELTON JOHN – It’s A Little Bit Funny
is playing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until 1 March 2020
Guitar:
Morgan Rickman
Bass: Johnny Wells
Drums: David Talisman/ Adam ‘Tweeny’ Sheffield
Bass: Johnny Wells
Drums: David Talisman/ Adam ‘Tweeny’ Sheffield
Director:
Ben Stock
Written by: Chris Burgess
Arrangements: Andy Collyer
Production Designer: Ben M Rogers
Production Assistant: Angie Lawrence
Written by: Chris Burgess
Arrangements: Andy Collyer
Production Designer: Ben M Rogers
Production Assistant: Angie Lawrence
Comments
Post a Comment