CAMILLE: The Dark Angel

EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW

Camille: the Dark Angel

• Assembly @ the Queen's Hall, Clerk Street.
• August 4^th - 7^th and 10^th – 13^th. 22:00hrs 
• £15.00. August 8^th & 9^th 22:00hrs £16.00
• www.camilleosullivan.com

A personal  recommendation from a friend sent me along to hear Camille O'Sullivan sing. In a recent press interview she listed David Bowie, Nick Cave, Kurt Weill and Jacques Brel and performs some of their songs in her shows. That much I'd read. Nothing more. I had no idea what I had let myself in for. I thought, this will probably be quite good. I did not expect to be blown away so completely by this stunningly sexy Franco-Irish performer.

Before the performance began I chatted to a couple of other press reviewers who had seen Camille's previous performances at the 2007 Fringe. I began to sense that Dark Angel was going to be something special.

The lights went down and the backing band began to play. I felt something brushing against my scalp. I wasn't sure what was happening at first. Then it came to me, someone was stroking my head! It was the singer herself. As she carried herself down the aisle towards the stage, she made similar contact with other members of the audience.

Camille O'Sullivan puts everything into her act. She claims to be exhausted. She opens wine bottles with her teeth, pours herself a generous glass, banters with members of the audience and sings movingly in everything from a whisper to a roar. And she can really sing, sometimes stealing songs away from their writers and making them her own. Rock'n'roll Suicide no longer belongs to Bowie. People ain't no good has been taken away from Nick Cave.

This sexy lady had the audience eating out of her hand right from the start. This was mixed with some apprehension that she might pick one or other out for some special banter. As Camille doesn't stick to the stage during songs, but moves up and down the aisles, this apprehension is not entirely groundless. Not that she does anything terrible, you understand – a kiss, a hug, a stroking of the head mixed with a bit of friendly banter all in a warm, Dublin accent. Much of her material was dark but it was lightened by her intimate routine. You'd have thought she was singing in a small venue for a handful of people instead of in a huge theatre. I'd love to see how she would perform in a room with less than a hundred people.

Nobody wanted to go home! A spontaneous standing ovation brought her back for an unaccompanied encore. She proved that her singing can stand up on its own. She even remained behind in the bar afterwards to autograph posters and CDs. Yes, I'm hooked. I bought a CD of her recent performance in the Olympia in Dublin. If you go, you will be too. Believe me, this is one performance that is not to be missed. For a flavour check out  Camille on myspace.

I caught up with Camille after the show.  Asked if she was planning to perform in Belfast soon, she told me that she is due to come to the Empire in Botanic Avenue.  Carrick Biz will keep our readers informed.  This will be too good a show to miss.