Bridget Everett at Soho Theatre

Bridget Everett is making her European debut this month at Soho Theatre, bringing her unique brand of alt-cabaret to the unprepared crowd. Her show is loud, sweaty and raucously funny from start to finish. Perfectly combining a mix of singing, stories and audience participation, Everett’s one-woman spectacle celebrates fun, sex and the wonders of a good costume change.

Some people know the comedienne from YouTube and from her work on Inside Amy Schumer, and she has already taken the US by storm, but many were new to the experience – something she softly and menacingly laughed about. She begins with a big entrance, complete with sparkly outfit, and with her voice packing a punch. Whilst sadly some of the lyrics are occasionally lost, they are hilarious throughout and she pushes those watching to sing along, a lot of the humour coming from the sheer joy on her face as she sees otherwise prim audience members singing about American beauty queens’ problems and desires.

This show moves fast, with barely enough time to stop laughing before the next song. Everett’s character is full on as well as fabulous. This bawdy performance is not for the shy, especially as those in the front row become intimately aware of Everett’s leopard skin pants, with one lucky gentleman getting a particularly exciting finale to the entertainment. Soho Theatre is the perfect setting for such an intimate event, and a classic for the genre, with its low-hanging lights and single bar stool on stage.

The evening has everything you could possibly want from a comedy cabaret show; the jokes are not subtle or the subjects new but that isn’t really the point. It makes everyone laugh, it has gloriously ridiculous costume changes that struggle to conceal the comedienne’s breasts – which becomes the inspiration for one of her best songs, Titties. The music is catchy, the humour quick and topical and Everett is unerringly lovable throughout. If cabaret is your thing, then this is a must-see while she’s still here!

Molly Lempriere

Bridget Everett is on at Soho Theatre from 16^th until 30^th July 2016, for further information or to book visit here.