Reviews

Camille O’Sullivan – Chameleon

Assembly Rooms
11-30 August, 22.25

I’m a big fan of Camille O’Sullivan, that gothic siren with a combustible artistic temperament, as indicated in her name, of Gallic and Gaelic extraction.

But her new show amounts to less than its considerable parts: husky Tom Waits, a capello Jacques Brel, a rocked-up version of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” (though I do think she should credit her songwriters) and a goodly selection of her own hypnotic, eccentric material.

Anyone lucky enough to have seen Leonard Cohen in concert knows how these things should be done. Camille comes on as a caped, mysterious troubadour before dissolving into a bonkers, Bjork-like harpy, bashing a drum and a cymbal while stomping her right foot as though she wants to make a hole in the stage.

Her chat is banal and unprepared, her effusiveness, in the end, messy. But what a talent she has. Recommended: especially if you’ve been in the bar for three hours.