Shut Up and Sing
Geraldine Quinn
28April 2010
Trades Hall
Guest Reviewer John Richards (from Boxcutters and The Outland Institute)
Why isn’t Geraldine Quinn a superstar? It’s a question she asks in her new show, but it’s one I sometimes ponder too. With her sensational voice, hilarious songs and smouldering sexuality she should be a household name, or at the very least as famous as Tim Minchin (and if you haven’t seen Minchin and Quinn performing Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ then get yourself to a YouTube now).
With Shut Up And Sing, Quinn returns with another set of sensational comedy songs, but this time she’s also added costume changes and a unifying theme. Shut Up and Sing sees Quinn trying to isolate the elements needed to have pop hit, looking at everything from lyrics to dance moves. It’s a loose concept that works extremely well and gives the show a nice sense of propulsion. There’s also some fantastic costumes, and it’s a much more physical show than in Quinn’s past (which is a polite way of saying there’s a lot of very alarming dancing).
The night we went she was battling a cold and audience numbers were – shall we say – “cosy”. Yet she managed to present a powerhouse show that makes you realise how spoiled we are in Melbourne to have such easy access to such amazing talent.
If you enjoy musical comedy, you will love Geraldine Quinn.
And finally I must note that the final number in Shut Up And Sing sets a new benchmark as possibly the most scandalous thing I have ever seen at the Comedy Festival. It contains no swearing, no racism, no misogyny and yet it’s conceptually shocking, a bravura idea excellently executed – I won’t give the joke away here, but if I tell you it’s an antipodean take on the Eurovision winning song of 1974 you might be able to work it out.
This review appears on AussieTheatre.com
