Kate Bush is one of the greatest performing artists to ever take to the stage, with such a gargantuan stage presence, legacy and mythos – not to mention the voice of an angel – that embodying her seems like a futile, impossible task. Sarah-Lousie Young does an admirable job; with a voice that holds up surprisingly well, she rattles off all the big hits – Babooshka, Wuthering Heights, Cloudbusting, and, yes, Running Up That Hill – complete with a Stranger Things pun so played out that hearing it in a popular Fringe show is scarcely believable.
It’s not just the songs, however, and Young uses her spidery, elegant stage presence to draw the crowd in, asking their favourite songs and even inviting some to participate onstage. Her dance moves and skilful use of props and accessories is sometimes mesmerising and when combined well with the music – such as during her rousing rendition of Babooshka in Russian. It’s hard to get past the fact that this is just a high production value tribute act, however, and it struggles to break into the category of something unique that a non-Kate Bush fan (God forbid) can get something out of.
Young does attempt this as she forays into the personal, but it feels tacked on and inauthentic. This is a tribute act with some asides and interludes, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it means there is little that the less Bush inclined among us can get out of it.
An Evening Without Kate Bush, 19.20, until August 26
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/evening-without-kate-bush
