The Dark Angels sees Camille O’Sullivan, a French-Irish chanteuse, take a journey around her record collection, with breathless covers of everything from Jacques Brel to David Bowie.

Taking to the stage, which is mocked up to ape a slightly-seedy late-night jazz club, the singer launches into her set, backed up by an accomplished five-piece band. The emphasis is on the melancholy, particularly with a scintillating rendition of Ute Lemper’s Little Water Song (co-written by Nick Cave). Her voice is an enigmatic beast, changing from captivating whisper to passionate growl depending on the song and the character she is inhabiting. Any vocal limitations, of which there are a few, are rendered superfluous by the sheer emotion and passion she is able to imbue into music she clearly loves. Her stage presence, meanwhile, is hypnotic as she stalks the stage casting lofty glares about her domain. The mere act of changing her shoes or addressing the microphone takes on a dramatic feel by virtue of the sheer force of her personality.

The performance is theatrical in the extreme, with short barely-audible monologues linking the songs. Stories of her previous life, apparently as an architect, add texture to what would otherwise simply be a series of, admittedly peerless, cover versions. Each number sees a different character emerge fully-formed from the performer’s repertoire of slighted women, broken-hearted lovers and coquettish minxes.

Sipping from a glass of wine throughout, Camille O’Sullivan seems to become wilder as the night goes on, an almost shy beginning leading to foot stomping and delighted yelps by the end. Parts of the show take on an almost surreal edge, particularly when she prowls around the theatre, meowing like a cat.

A little levity is introduced with a humorous cover of In These Shoes, originally by Kirsty MacColl, for which she dons a pair of sparkling red stilettos. With just the use of a few sighs, giggles and frowns she brings the song alive making it her own and infusing the lyrics with a dark sexuality.

Another highlight arrives when she tackles David Bowie’s Rock and Roll Suicide, lending the song a desperate air of loss and sadness. There are still surprises to come, particularly when she effortlessly transforms into an ingénue to launch into a goosebump-inducing Look Mummy, No Hands, originally by Amanda Palmer. A rendition of Hurt, written by Trent Reznor and perhaps most famously sung by Johnny Cash, is like gossamer, delicate and slight, dampening the eyes and choking the throat with emotion.

Her dress echoes the breadth of music - part wedding attire, part mourning gown. A black veil tops off an all-black outfit, with fishnets and bright red lipstick adding a flirtatious edge to the darkness.

A finale comes courtesy of the splicing together of David Bowie’s Five Years and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, an ethereal ending to a spell-binding show.

A heady mixture of burlesque and good old-fashioned cabaret, Camille O’Sullivan soothes the soul with one breath, before stealing the heart with the next.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Camille O’Sullivan.

Company Credits: Backing Band - Feargal Murray, Brendan Doyle, Malachy Robinson, Paul Byrne and Cian Boylan. Company – Phil McIntyre Entertainment.

END

(c) David Hepburn 2009

reviewed Friday 28 August 09 / Assembly Rooms @ Assembly Hall, Edinburgh, UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com