one4review | On 19, Aug 2014

Two powerhouses come together for an hour of awesome diva-ness in a fantastically entertaining set of famous song covers and banter. Ian Stroughair’s Velma Celli I didn’t know at all and I was very impressed – both by the quality and power of his voice but also his height and figure, he looked fantastic. His impersonation of a ‘certain famous person’ is a joy.

Christina Bianco I had heard of, both from Forbidden Broadway and her YouTube videos. What a voice, what a talent, what a lovely person. Her impressions and impersonations are first class and a delight to witness. The pairing of the diminutive Christina with Ian’s huge Velma is perfect and with excellent piano (or track) backings the hour flies past all too quickly.

This is a very well produced and highly professional show, however it unfortunately doesn’t get five stars from me as the sound was terrible. It was far, far too loud for this converted church venue. So loud that several people around me, myself included, were wincing at times and we were at the back. You could often barely hear the piano during the singing, the vowels sounded great but unfortunately most of the consonants landed in another street somewhere in Edinburgh and this made a majority of what was being sung simply incomprehensible. If the songs weren’t well known this would have really spoilt the evening. However, that aside, this is easily one of the best carabet shows in the Fringe this year by a mile.

Reviewed by Alan.

Assembly Checkpoint
1925 to 2025