At 9.50pm on a Sunday night, I join the queue snaking from the archway of the Assembly Hall, round the corner up the Mound almost to the High Street. Camille, the Celtic Queen of Cabaret is back in town following sell out seasons in London, New York and Sydney. From her Edinburgh debut in Le Cirque in 2003, and her award winning Spiegeltent show in 2007, it's been a long journey for this French-Irish architect from Cork who literally ran away with the Circus to be a global musical star.
Inspired by the narrative art songs of Weimar composers Eisler and Weill, Camille presents a melancholic medley of classic and contemporary songs about life's degenerates, the seedier side of life and desolate love. With fine musical accompaniment by her 5 piece Irish-Scottish band, we are treated to her raunchy, jazzy-blues versions of songs by Jacques Brel, David Bowie (Rock and Roll Suicide), Tom Waits and Nick Cave (Little Water Song, Come Sail Your Ships). From the first few notes, her husky sensual voice is reminiscent of a female Leonard Cohen (she is a great fan) combined with the slow drawl of Nina Simone.
Stripping from a black evening gown to reveal a tight corset and red knickers she puts on a sexy, provocative act, but, as the show goes on, her style of performance is at times just rather contrived, over rehearsed and manipulative.
In her red sparkly Judy Garland heels, she staggers to her feet to give us MacColl's comic song "In These Shoes." She has performed this so often (Fringe Sunday '08 video on YouTube), she almost sounds bored.
The rock-chick sips from her bottle of red wine, chats (often inaudibly) to the audience in between songs, muttering near the end, "I'm getting more eccentric as the years go on." This gig seems to be more Amy Winehouse than Sally Bowles.
Cabaret was created in Berlin's intimate, smoky jazz bars where Camille learned the art and was advised by the legendary Agnes Bernelle to be a better actress than singer. Now performing at the Sydney Opera House and Assembly Hall, the nature of her small-scale burlesque act has changed, the dramatic mood is lost. The Spiegeltent is certainly the best venue and ambience for her show... which would mean no seats for her hundreds of fans who will continue to join the queue up the Mound.
Times: 6-31 August (not 11, 18 & 25), 10pm.