By Bec Johnston.
Downstairs in the Fairfax Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne, there’s a windstorm building. The sheer flat of the stage could, conceivably, be mistaken for the wily, Wuthering moors somewhere out in West Yorkshire. There is nothing resting upon it but a suitcase and a microphone – a tempered beginning to what will prove to be a night full of madcap musicality, physicality, and more Kate Bush lore than you can shake a mop at. We are in the steady clutches of Sarah-Louise Young, a performer with all the presence and tenacity needed to take on a challenge such as this.
This is An Evening Without Kate Bush. She’s not here, but we are.
This one-woman show, devised with director Russell Lucas, takes audiences for a ride on a rollercoaster of story, choreography, and the mythos behind musical icon Kate Bush and her zealous fandom. This is a show for everyone, though, and Young makes clear through some friendly chit-chat as the house lights rise to uncover Bush-tragics and curious newcomers alike. Whether you are a ‘Fish Person’ or simply along for a lively night out (or, indeed, the air-con), there’s a space for you here.
Young keeps us all safely in-hand for 70 minutes as she performs tracks from the Bush back catalogue with a voice that is reminiscent, without seeking to replicate. It’s clear that Sarah-Louise is perfectly at-home inhabiting the sensual world of Kate’s oeuvre – most impressively demonstrated by fielding an audience member’s impromptu request for ‘The Man With the Child In His Eyes’, which Young near-seamlessly works into her set before our very eyes.
We’re expertly guided through a series of vignettes, monologues, show-stoppers, a rifling through of props and costumes that make reference to some moment in time in Bush’s long career. This show doesn’t labour too long on the facts and fine details of the singer’s life, so if you’re hoping to learn more about Kate Bush in a biographical sense, you may be disappointed. Young and Lucas appear more interested in the emotional impact her music has had on her fans, and particularly, her ‘superfans’. We hear their stories throughout, and they form the heart of the piece.
Young’s aptitude for improvisation and interaction with audience members mean that no two performances are quite the same. Her easy banter anchors us, lending a warm humour that makes us feel as though we’re all old friends in the same kooky fanclub. Someone’s anecdote is cleverly weaved into an unexpectedly poignant moment, and suddenly ‘Don’t Give Up’ becomes the soundtrack to an experience that can only be described as a strange and beautiful lovefest. It’s a wonderful atmosphere that’s created – one of the great joys of the unpredictable, often unquantifiable nature of live theatre.
We are present. We are together. We are singing along, whether we know the lyrics or not. We bark like dogs. You’ll have to see that part for yourself.
An Evening Without Kate Bush is part of Midsumma Festival 2025
