If this show doesn’t get a national tour post-Fringe it’ll be a travesty worthy of Liza Minnelli. There is a trend of late to give every performance a standing ovation but in the case of this show, it was entirely deserved.
Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas is a riotous love letter to five fabulous women who overcame adversity, poverty, gay husbands, and ambitious mothers to triumph as actors, singers and entertainers, blazing their way into stardom through sheer gumption.
From a foul-mouthed Julie Andrews to a sharp-as-a-tack Dolly Parton, Gail Watson, Frances Thorburn, and Clare Waugh portray the five divas with affection and humour. Alongside Julie and Dolly, we also meet Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli and Doris Day via a dressing room, a time machine and an assortment of props.
The cast showed an impressive ability to shift between accents, vocals, dance and physicality, with merely a wig and a pair of shoes we were seamlessly transported from one diva to the next.
It was clear from Morag Fullarton’s book that she holds these women in great affection, and the dialogue and portrayals were both realistic and sympathetic; it didn’t shy away from their flaws. Each diva was performed as a fully embodied woman. Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli in particular have well documented substance and men issues, but these were shown as part of them rather than a defining part of them.
The hardest bit about watching this show was not singing along to all the songs, and there were so many. A highlight was Julie Andrews’ alternative performance of ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’. That, combined with her characterisation of Rex Harrison as an “insufferable prick” will stay with me for a long time!
To create a show which is brilliantly funny, teaches the audience something and makes you want to sing and dance is hard but the cast and creatives achieved it. If I’d been in Edinburgh longer I’d have gone again.
My only request is a little bit of Jane Russell added please. Frances Thorburn looks so much like her!
You can catch Doris, Dolly and the Dressing Room Divas at the Gilded Balloon until 31st August. Tickets here!
