“It’s the end of the world as we know it…” sings Scout Durwood in a voice than can soar with power and skip with quiet almost-whispered emotion. “It’s the Final Countdown…” and the apocalypse song medley takes us from a cabaret setting with our silver-fringed star swigging wildly from a bottle, into a holding karaoke space mid-apocalypse. Whether this is a universal global apocalypse or a personal one inside Scout’s head is unclear. What is clear though is that every time Durwood sings she’s in her best space. That voice is rich, scintillating, and absolute velvet to hear.
A googly-eyed paper bag puppet explains the transition from cabaret to apocalypse. It sounds as if Durwood’s might’ve blacked out and this is the bit between life and death within her subconscious. It’s inexplicably karaoke formatted, meaning that the lyrics for each piece come up alongside her on a screen, occasionally distractingly off a beat or with a slight lyric tweak a la actual karaoke-style. These songs, and even lyrical phrasings, are interspersed with biographical traumas – which are unclear, due to the fantastical setting, to be the words of a character, or the actual performer’s confessionals. Either way, it’s a lot to cram in and confusing in its delivery, a lifetime’s mental health crammed into half an hour, morphing into more trauma dump than narrative arc.
Durwood’s fantastic voice and performance chops are the showcase here, attention-demanding and captivating, versatile and emotive.
Apocalypse Cabaret: Songs For The End Of The World
Dairy Room at Underbelly Bristo Square, 21.200, until 24 August (except 12 and 19)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/apocalypse-cabaret-songs-for-the-end-of-the-world
