British Theatre Guide **** review

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“Sarah-Louise Young moves from two highly successful years on the Free Fringe to the Underbelly in her latest one-woman cabaret show and it’s a sparkling performance as is the dress she wears in her first persona as Bernie St Claire. She sings with experience of the nightclub circuit, all sultry and sexy yet washed up. The next Diva Young plays is Karsha the Eastern European, seductively dressed in a purple cat suit and suitably feline in her delivery. She tells the packed audience, “I came to work in the sex industry but no job so I work in a primary school.” A new character is Baby Doll and her Doll, child star of the cult TV hit Rainbow Creek, treads the fine line between the innocent joys of childhood and the dark comedy of a small girl who refuses to grow up. Her final Diva is the tortured French chanteuse La Poule Plombée, complete with kitchen knife and suffering from clinical depression. All Young’s characters are delivered with style and a certain savoire-faire. She is highly entertaining with a talent that simply oozes with confidence. This is a captivating hour of cabaret at its very best.” Robin Strapp

West End Whingers **** review

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“Sarah-Louise Young, who is currently 33.3 (recurring) % of the fabulous Fascinating Aida is certainly working her arse off on the fringe. This hour long show Cabaret Whore: More! More! More! sees her playing a series of four divas (some generic, others cheekily based closely on real-life ones) before shooting off to join FA at another venue a mere 45 minutes later.

With barely a night off and a month of two shows to perform you really do wonder why some performers in the West End who may only have a few big numbers per show can’t manage eight shows a week.  You know who you are.

We enter the auditorium and are individually and hilariously greeted by Young in character as Bernie St. Claire (blonde but not a lisping stone’s throw from Liza) before seeing her set succeeded by the the other characters including her final one – a fabulously gloomy knife-wielding bitter French chanteuse called La Poule Plombée (the frumpy pigeon).

What’s even more impressive is that Young has written the material herself and not only is her performance remarkable but the material is laugh-out-loud funny. The pastiches of musical styles are spot on (composer Michael Roulston) while the show cleverly and subversively deconstructs the whole performer/audience relationship. Rather brilliant.”

Review by West End Whingers

The Stage review

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“Strutting needily about the house as her audience enter, Bernie St-Claire is just as you would remember her if she existed. Those limpid eyes, that willingness to please and the glittering costume that just drips off her. Her voice – once the lights are down and she has settled her audience – is pure nicotine and black coffee.It is Sarah-Louise Young’s attention to detail in her creation of her four archetypes of the stage which makes Cabaret Whore such a treat. She establishes a persona and works the audience in characters who are as sharp as they are tragic.

A quick-change creates Karsha, the Eastern European performance artist who came to work in the sex trade but who was lied to and ended up on the stage. New character Baby Doll, the grown-up child star still in her yellow tutu and similarly attired dolly, sings songs so provocative they would be truly unsettling on a real child’s lips. For a finale, there is La Poule Plombee, a depressive and, it must be added, baffling French chanteuse is wheeled out.

Young’s songs for each character are perfectly pitched. MD Michael Roulston’s pastiche tunes are spot on while Young’s lyrics bite as hard as her characters. Great stuff.”

Review by Thom Dibdin in The Stage.

Three Weeks **** review

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“I am warmly greeted with “Well hellloooo beautiful lady” by a glamorous American woman in a costume that, I have to admit, I am very jealous of; it’s a dress that would put Liza Minnelli to shame! We are introduced to four very different cabaret divas in this one woman show, each character with their own hilarious idiosyncrasies, each engaging with the audience in their own special way – there’s an Eastern European neo-cabaret star and a furious French woman to name two. The costume changes are impressive as they are fast, and the singing is faultless. If you’re looking for fun at the Fringe as well as some top quality entertainment, go check out this show. ”
tw rating 4/5 [efs]

Scotsman **** Review

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“…Things get off to a great start with Cabaret Whore: More! More! More! a solo show from Sarah-Louise Young, who has just got a gig as the third member of Fascinating Aida. You can tell you are in the presence of class as soon as you walk through the door. Dressed in a shimmering sequined gown, our versatile diva welcomes us in the persona of Bernie St Claire, a desperately needy chanteuse with a distinct similarity to Liza Minnelli. When Bernie takes the stage the voice is extraordinary, slightly lisping from drugs or alcohol but bursting with emotion and yearning and an unquenchable need for attention. The lyrics are sparkling, clever and deliciously witty, and Young delivers her song with a divinely mischievous twinkle. Another marvellous creation is La Poule Plombee – a tragic Piaf type figure with a quavering Gallic torch-song voice who accessorises with tears and a knife and sings of her insurmountable addiction to tragedy and her barely disguisable contempt for the audience. Baby Doll, a former child star, looks uncomfortably like Turner-prize-winning transvestite sculptor Grayson Perry… I loved the bizarre Eastern European ukulele player Kasia who wears a skintight lilac ensemble with a purple nylon wig and sings absurdly optimistic tactless ditties about life as an immigrant in the UK.”

Read the full article: Clare Smith\’s Scotsman Cabaret Review

Public review

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“This is an act honed to perfection, the words of the songs are witty, the musical parodies spot-on. An hour simply slipped by, and she deserves every star going. I’d be very surprised if this doesn’t sell out, so grab tickets while you can…”

This is part of a lovely review from an audience member on Edinburgh Festival Guide.

Read more: Howard Bradshaw review

Scotsman review tba!

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The Cabaret Whore team are very excited about a Scotsman review due to be published soon. Claire Smith’s round-up of cabaret shows in Friday’s Scotsman will leads with a 4* for Cabaret Whore and feature comments such as:

“You can tell you are in the presence of class as soon as you walk through the door… The lyrics are sparkling, clever and deliciously witty.”

Woo hoo! Watch this space.

Hairline **** review

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“Sarah Louise-Young, the long running champion of the free Fringe has, after countless gushing reviews the last few years and several awards, come to her senses. The show that could be seen for beer money now has a decent afternoon slot in the Underbelly. Quite right too, as Young’s one woman show is an absolute blast.”

Read more: Hairline review

Edinburgh run

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Catch the third Cabaret Whore instalment,  ‘Cabaret Whore, More! More! More!’ at the Edinburgh Fringe, 4th to 29th August (no show 17th) at 16.55 at the Underbelly.
This new show features some old favourites from tortured French chanteuse La Poule Plombée, Polish performance artiste Kasia and washed up lounge crooner Bernie St. Clair and introduces a brand new character for 2011, faded child star, Baby Doll.
Sarah-Louise will also be appearing with Fascinating Aida at 18.45 each day at the Gilded Balloon.