Brecht, piano virtuosity and R&B "Hokey Cokey"

"The witheringly rude answer to Flanders and Swann… literate and sophisticated" - Daily Telegraph

We had a fabulous evening's entertainment at the Hampstead Theatre thanks to the wonderful Kit & the Widow!

We have been to some fantastic shows over the years, and really thought we knew what we were going to expect from an evening with a favourite cabaret act of ours. However we could not have prepared ourselves for this evening... For Friday was their "Gala Night" - and in addition to their own amazing repartee, the boys provided us with a remarkable and fabulous selection of guests to entertain us!

Here is a little sample of Kit & The Widow doing what they do best:

Kit and The Widow - West End Score

To add to their own magnificent compositions, including their scathing piss-takes of Lord Lloyd-Webber and Stephen Sondheim, the LibDems, the middle classes, Pilates ("turning fatties into farties") and the classic (No! Not) Nando's (to the tune of Abba's Fernando), Kit, Widow and guests entertained us to a sublime Bertold Brecht ensemble number, and some beautiful duets.

And what of the guests? Sheer class! The beautiful Sam Barnett (of The History Boys), West End stalwart Claire Moore (the vocal coach on BBC1's Over the Rainbow apparently), Fascinating Aida's Issy van Randwyck [who happens to be married to Sir Peter Hall's son Edward, who is the new boss of the theatre], "Harry the Piano", and the superstar of the evening's entertainment, Ida Barr... Here's a taster of the talents on show:

Sam Barnett sang a gay anthem:

Samuel Barnett - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Harry the Piano is a maestro of merging different composers' styles with some unexpected tunes:

Harry The Piano - Mashup - Dr Who meets Monty Python in a galaxy far far away from normal

Chris Green - creator of the fabulous Tina C - has taken a step across musical boundaries with his character Ida Barr, a former music hall star who has taken to urban music with a vengeance. Here's her own brand of "Artificial Hip Hop":

Ida Barr at Battersea Arts Centre

Ida managed to get a healthy portion of the audience up on stage for her R&B version of The Hokey Cokey(!), which ended with a conga line right out of the theatre, round the lobby, round backstage and back to their seats... It has to be seen to be believed!

I haven't laughed so much in ages - what a tonic!

Kit & The Widow