Christine Bovill review, Le Crazy Coqs

Cabaret is often theatrical, and Le Crazy Coqs in London's Piccadilly has an impressive churn of artists putting on quirky shows for the price of a cocktail, in surroundings that are pure Great Gatsby. That's the justification for reviewing Christine Bovill's uplifting tribute to Edith Piaf, which was on for just one glorious night, and pointing potential punters to a beautiful art deco room - named after the clock over the mirrored bar - which offers evocative, intimate evenings, of gentle drama.

Chanson D'Amour

Christine Bovill discovered Piaf as a teenager, got a visiting French exchange student to transcribe the words so she could learn them, and has dedicated her life to absorbing and distilling the Piaf songbook, finally leaving teaching to take her show to the masses. The patter that accompanies her tribute to The Little Sparrow moves effortlessly from the personal to the biographical, linking the Glasgow chanteuse to her legendary French idol not through life experience, but through emotion.

Piaf's story is rags to riches, but with so much personal, often self-inflicted, pain along the way, that every song sears the heart. Bovill sings in both French and English, and the husky depth and feeling she brings to the songs make them as much hers as Piaf's. As she closed the ninety minute with a rousing Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, the audience was on its feet.

In conclusion: In recent months shows seen have included the inimitable Barb Jungr, Lorna Luft - who has finally broken away from being Judy Garland's daughter, the arch Janie Dee and the steely American, Shana Farr, with her musically perfect but oddly unmoving tribute to Julie Andrews. Ticket prices are sensible and the experience is rich and diverse. 

References

Le Crazy Coqs, Schedule and Tickets