An Unexpected Variety Show
By Jenny Wynter
Butterfly Club
10 April – 22 April
In this great little ‘autobiographical musical stand-up’ Jenny Wynter displays much promise and significant potential. It is comprised of anecdotes from her life, loads of music and songs and is part tribute to her mother who literally has the voice of an Angel.
An Unexpected Variety Show is unexpected - it sneaks up on one. Well it certainly snuck up on me and my plus one who was serenaded with an improvised song about her enduring marriage after, most unpredictably, being heartily interrogated about her relationship and how she and her husband (unexpectedly) met.
As with much comedy, throughout, is a slight milieu of risk. Some aspects of the performance hold together better than others. There is a ventriloquist/puppet segment that could do with some tweaking or be pruned. A more personalized puppet, something made to order as a special tribute to Wynter’s nine year old daughter that it, kind of, represents could be cool. And it would be awesome to see what a costume designer and make-up artist could do to show Wynter off. However, in a sense, her almost unadorned comeliness is a big part of her genuine and disarming appeal.
I was reminded of the intimacy and courage witnessed in the early work of Denise Scott – in a very hazy way that is, it was a long time ago.
The mostly 20 to 30 something audience, in the small performance space at the Butterfly Club, really seemed to be connecting with and enjoying this authentic and candid work.
Sincerely entertaining – worth catching.
Suzanne Sandow
(For Stage Whispers)
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