Grandmother's Closet

One of my criteria for not seeing shows at the Edinburgh festival was if we might see them on tour in Cardiff. "Grandmother's Closet" is the first show we have had to see in Edinburgh because we couldn't get tickets for it when it was at the Wales Millennium Centre.

I know the director Francois Pandolfo a little (see our preview review for his stunning show "An Audience With Muilly-Liu" which is on at the Pleasance) but I was also intrigued by this show's subject matter.

Again, this show tells you a lot from the title but we were surprised and a little startled to be greeted by Luke Hereford in just his underpants. This proved to be a practical choice as he soon covers his body up in stunning clothes from his grandmother's closet. This is where he is encouraged to find his identity growing-up, allowing him to sing songs from some of his favourite female singers. You might expect Garland, Streisand, Minogue but I was blown away by Bjork and Bush amongst others. Wow! Unbelievable!

When we first enter the auditorium the stunning set is hidden under sheets and we can't believe what we see when they are removed. The other big surprise is Luke's singing. It is wonderful. The problem with picking well-known is that the performer can often suffer by comparison to the original versions but that is not a problem here especially when I realised what a difficult song " The Trolley Song" is to sing live!

This is a beautiful piece of emotionally charged coming of age theatre combining laugh out loud moments with pathos. This show is exactly why the Edinburgh Fringe exists to showcase unsung talent to the rest of the world.

Breath-taking.

(If you want to be more impressed hang around for few minutes and see the performers stagger offstage with the set before John Hegley arrives. ( Check out our next review).