Whiskey Bars: a Kabarett with Songs of Kurt Weill

A washed-up cabaret performer gets ready for his comeback only to find in his dressing room a reporter. The interview ensues and the audience watches as this original tale written and performed by Bremner Duthie takes his has-been character and shows the reporter and viewers what kind of an artist this man had been.

Whiskey Bars is filled with Kurt Weill songs, but Bremner Duthie makes them his own with confidence and his skill as a professional artist. A wide variey of emotions are displayed for the audience by Duthie and each resonates as the show goes on. 

The power of Duthie's voice keeps the audience glued to his performance with applause after applause as each song is laid to rest.  Singing in mutiple languages and executing them to convey the emotion to the audience, not the actual words, shows artistic and masterful craftsmanship. The comedic timing and sprinkled banter of Duthie's character experience is funny and entertaining as well. You can see the differences the cabaret performer as he has little confidence, bashfully asking for a good review to the reporter and then changes to a confident and powerful artist when he performs the songs. There were no bumps or weak spots in the performance. Duthie came prepared and executed his production well.

For me this is a real cabaret show. It seems that Whisky Bars shouldn't be Fringe material and should be displayed where professional-level shows are to be seen. We are very lucky to be able to have a peek at this international production.

I recommend this to everyone from the newbie audience to the hardcore theatre buffs.

Whiskey Bars: a Kabarett with Songs of Kurt Weill is my Pick of the Fringe.