United Kingdom Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014 (4) – Camille O’Sullivan: Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, 14.8.2014 (SRT)
Camille O’Sullivan is one of those acts whose face has become extremely familiar over the (ten) years she has been coming to the Fringe, not least because her posters are everywhere!
She is a very talented singer with a dark, husky voice that oozes distinctive character. The repertoire she goes for is mostly contemporary or recent (Johnny Cash, Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen, for example) and she gives each cover her own distinctive touch that makes it her own work of art.
She gives herself the stage persona of a slightly hyperactive diva, though, and a lot of her set made me think I was watching an actress as well as listening to a singer. That’s a bit of a shame, because she is at her best when at her most unaffected: her hyped up version of Tom Waits’ God’s Away on Business didn’t work for me. She goes for (and is extremely good at) songs that tell stories, though, and she identifies with them deeply.
Her Nick Cave songs were great, for example, from her opening God is in the House to a heartfelt version of The Ship Song, and Amanda Palmer’s Look Mummy, No Hands was moving not just for the audience but for her too.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe continues until 25th August at a range of venues across the city. For full details click here.
Simon Thompson