Entertainment
24 May, 2025
Great night without Kate
HOWL with the ‘Hounds of Love’, run up that hill and dance at the top of the Wuthering Heights in this one-of-a-kind cabaret where Kate Bush isn’t there but all that matters is that you are.
Next Thursday at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre prepare to experience Kate Bush like never before with the cult cabaret ‘An evening without Kate Bush’ a one-woman show interpreted by the talented multi award-winning performer Sarah-Louise Young, who will embark the audience on an eclectic and unexpected journey through Kate Bush’s discography.
According to its front woman ‘An evening without Kate Bush’ is and isn’t a tribute to Kate Bush. While Ms Young never attempts to impersonate Bush, the show does pay tribute to Bush’s music, fans and almost mythological persona.
“I was in Adelaide doing a show about Julie Andrews called ‘Julie, Madly, Deeply’ which I had made with my creative collaborator Russell Lucas and we were both already massive fans of Kate Bush,” Ms Young told Cairns Local News.
“One of my earliest memories is dancing around in my living room to Wuthering Heights when I was about three-years- old.
“So for this show we were really interested in the fans’ relationship with her music, though I don’t impersonate Kate Bush – and I stay away from the word tribute – it is a tribute of sorts, it’s just a very unconventional tribute.
“There’s no impersonation, no attempt to tell her life story, it’s looking at the relationship that we have with the artist, especially when the artist is not available to speak or sing for themselves.”
Ms Young said there would be lots of costumes, music and dance but all in ways you don’t expect.
“It’s only me on stage and no two shows are the same because it’s very interactive with the audience,” she said.
“It’s as interactive as you want it to be. There are some very gentle invitations to join in. I collect stories from the audience during the show and they find themselves woven into the fabric of the piece.
“You’re going to hear songs that you know if you’re a fan of Kate Bush – ‘The Man With The Child in His Eyes’, ‘Running Up That Hill’ – but not necessarily performed in the context you might expect them.
“Right now there’s a lot of flat-pack Ikea experiences. You can go see a show in New York and one in the West End and it’s the same show, so coming to something that really is for you, that centres around the audience, is a very special thing to be a part of.”
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