CLOSING the Liverpool Theatre Festival at the weekend was the formidable Sarah-Louise Young with a perfect matinee show in the form of Julie Madly Deeply, a sideways look at the life and career of Dame Julie Andrews.
Part cabaret turn, part life story, at its core is a heartfelt examination of the psychology of the performer - whether you’re an international star of stage and screen, or not. There is surely much for any professional to identify with, here.
But of course if it was just about that, it wouldn’t have so much appeal. This show is as much to do with the shared experience of an audience and the joy of live entertainment, and Young’s genuine enthusiasm for stories and anecdotes from others is what really makes it - something that is unique every time, informing the work, and connecting everyone in the room (or Bombed Out Church) in the most delightful way. Singalongs are encouraged - “the lyrics are in our DNA!” Young enthuses. You believe her. Her improv chops are impressive - as previously demonstrated in Liverpool improvathons past - a crowd can certainly feel in good hands.
The show isn’t a new one - Julie Madly Deeply is a decade old - but after Covid, and seeing this performance in the week of the death of the Queen, it has a real poignancy. It’s clear how as much as anything this is piece about human connection - both being seen as a person making a living on stage, and giving the audience a warm and genuine collective experience in return.
It’s not a matter of Young indulging her inner Maria; It’s not a conventional tribute show, and not a single classic number is performed in full. Snippets of songs fizz around her brain and fuse together with impressive mental and musical dexterity; a spoonful of raindrops on roses.
Anchoring it all is pianist Michael Roulston - the sort of unflappable, affable, and seemingly effortlessly skilled accompanist who are absolutely worth their weight in gold.
And armed with little more than a keyboard and a wig, Julie Madly Deeply pays a studied homage and does its bit to ensure a living legend is rightly celebrated, and a golden age of stage and screen lives on.
