Shanay Holmes in Concert - Cadogan Hall

On Saturday night, I was invited to attend and review Shanay Holmes' debut concert at Cadogan Hall. Now, I must preface this by stating that as I was feeling quite unwell due to the heat and exhaustion, I left at the interval. This is definitely not a habit of mine, but regardless, I thought I should share my thoughts on what I did see.

Shanay Holmes is an incredible performer, I fell in love with her voice when I first heard her sing her now famous "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver!, and I have heard her sing on many an occasion since then. But, I must admit that I was slightly disappointed by this show.

Accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, she sang some of my favourite musical theatre songs, from "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Disney's Cinderella) to "Maybe" (Annie), and I loved them - for the most part.

This concert has brought up a sort of debate I've been having - should a vocal performance be the primary focus when doing Musical Theatre?

My initial response is probably "not". Musical Theatre exists to tell stories. One sings because one's emotions simply cannot be put into words. To this end, composers have spent countless hours crafting melodies and choosing notes in order to tell the story. Taking liberties when singing this material can be done, but only if and when it is used to service the advancement of the storyline. There were times in this concert when more importance was afforded to the vocal performance, and lyrics seemed to get lost in the meantime. When a run or a held note takes precedence over a lyric, the story pauses, even if the voice itself is dazzling.

This impression was compounded by a sense that the evening could have used more preparation. Shanay had an iPad on stage with her, and she referred to it during her introductions to the songs - moments that, in a show built around personal stories and reflections, might have benefited from feeling more instinctive and less read. On a couple of occasions, this seemed to affect the flow, and I noticed a few important lines get lost along the way. For a performer of her calibre, these felt like avoidable stumbles, and ones that suggested the show might have settled more comfortably with another rehearsal or two behind it.

I must end this by saying that I have been to a fair few of these concerts, and the performers often have a script on stage with them, and that in itself is not an issue. Making it part of the narrative, making jokes around it has worked in the past. But in this case, it seemed to unsettle her rhythm more than anything, breaking the connection she'd otherwise built with the audience.

Now, to be fair, this is a different context. This was Shanay's time to promote her upcoming album, and not a show where the story takes the lead. However, as a musical theatre performer, her life is dedicated to telling stories, so surely this context does not change the aim? If anything, it raises the stakes - an artist so closely associated with storytelling through song owes it to her material, and her audience, to let the lyrics lead.

Personal Enjoyment: 50%

(AD | gifted in exchange for an honest review)

Show Information

Venue: Cadogan Hall, London

Playing One Night Only

Run Time: Approximately 2h - with an interval of 20 minutes