one4review | On 15, Aug 2013

4 stars ****

It’s nice to see Kiss of the Spiderwoman back on the Fringe and this University College London group have produced a competent interpretation of Kander and Ebb’s rarely done work.

The ensemble have good vocals and projection, not needing mics as is often the case in C-1. The excellent band, while reduced, provided a perfect accompaniment to an often challenging score.

Good points – the band, the excellent leads and gorgeous dancers. Not quite so good points – the part of Aurora was vocally too low, often leading to some dodgy tuning. Also, some of the choreography seemed a bit random or excessive with occassional timing issues.

It’s a pity the company didn’t have more men – usually with the full male ensemble numbers the result is immensely powerful, but here we had several girls singing in. It still worked, I’m being picky, but I missed the sheer power of a male chorus (which then also helps with the whole prison scenario).

All in all though a very worthwhile production to catch.

Review by Alan.

C-1
31st July-15th August
12:20-14:00