Review – Eartha Kitt (A Purrfect Evening with…)

OK, so it’s a bit off-topic, and more cabaret than “legitimate theatre”, but these days you have to get your stars wherever you can find them. There aren’t that many left that are worthy of the name.

So Andrew hurried along to the Shaw Theatre yesterday to catch A Purrfect Evening with Eartha Kitt. It was something of a last minute decision because Andrew resented the incredible £60 ticket price given that he saw Eartha for a fiver when she did a set at the Fridge nightclub in Brixton when she was a mere 65.

But the reviews were so good and how many more times is this opportunity going to come around?

She opened with “I’m Still Here” because it is a showbusiness law that all chanteuses over a certain age must include it in their show. At 80 years old they have to sing it first in case they don’t make it to the encore.

In addition to the usual Eartha standards such as “I Wanna Be Evil” she presented some new repertoire including particularly good versions of “Guess Who I Saw Today” and “Leave You”.

She did that American thing of finding things funnier than they really were and crying too readily during the sad songs, but who cares, it’s EARTHA KITT.

And what a trouper. She even sat and autographed programmes after the matinee. Good for you, Eartha. Come back soon.

In case you missed her, here she is doing “I’m Still Here”