Edinburgh Fringe 2024
The Kate Bush Story
Night Owl Shows
Genre: Cabaret, Music, Musical Stories, Storytelling, Tribute Show
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Polished story-telling and musical tribute to Kate Bush
Review
Kate Bush is a musical phenomenon. She began writing her own songs as a child and such was her precocious talent that she caught the attention of David Gilmour, from Pink Floyd. Refusing to bow to studio pressure, her first single was the avant-garde Wuthering Heights and went to number one in the U.K., making her the first female artist to reach the top spot with a self written song. While still a teenager. Her career saw 25 top 40 singles, 9 top 10 albums and a plethora of awards.
We enter the Space’s Surgeons’ Hall venue to a band set-up : drums, guitar, bass guitar and keyboard. The backing band appear, synchronised in white shirts and black ties. Where is Kate though ? But then she appears – like an apparition, a whirlwind of swirling red, homage to Bush’s Wuthering Heights video, her red dress juxtaposed against the backing musicians’ attire.
Hannah Richards, playing Bush, opens with Hounds Of Love, a single from the eponymous album. The Hounds Of Love album is widely considered to be Bush’s magnum opus. The album is established firmly in a moment in time, in that it has two distinct sides, suitable for the vinyl and cassette era. One side was a succession of accessible and popular singles, the other a mini concept album of a sea voyage, inspired by the works of Tennyson.
Next up is Wuthering Heights from her debut album The Kick Inside, the song’s provenance being obvious. Richards moves in a seductive, sultry fashion, evoking the spirit of Catherine at the window.
Bush had written 30-40 songs as a child, one of which was The Man With The Child In His Eyes. She wrote this song aged 13 and we now see Richards’ versatility, as she not only sings but plays the keyboard.
Kate Bush was present at David Bowie’s inaugural outing as his alter-ego creation Ziggy Stardust. Inspired by the show, she experimented with sound and created the next track, Oh to Be in Love. This track especially requires skilful musical technique, which the ensemble perform with aplomb.
Wow is next performed with an elfin-like grace but also vulnerability, remaining empathetic to the song’s lyrics.
Babooshka – a Russian word for grandmother – is a dark song about a woman entrapping her suspected philandering husband.
Richards now duets Don’t Give Up with the guitarist (Alex Beharrell) eloquently taking the part of Peter Gabriel.
A personal highlight follows, with an emotionally charged (“just make it go away”) version of the haunting This Woman’s Work.
The show begins to ramp up now as the finale begins to loom…we are back to a track from Hounds Of Love, as Cloudbusting is delivered in rhythmic, hypnotic fashion.
The show ends on the song that revealed Kate Bush to an entire new generation : Running Up That Hill. Its use in the Netflix series Stranger Things generated a staggering 1 billion streams. Once again rhythmic, symbiotically with the drumming. The production finishes with a celebratory flourish.
Night Owl’s excellent The Kate Bush Story is of course a tribute show, but it is so much more : this tells her story. Her work resonates to this day and now touches a new audience. The ensemble’s skill is exceptional but Hannah Richards especially brings emotion while exuding humility, embodying the essence of Kate Bush.
