Angela Harding: Just Like You… Only Different!

Last year, we were introduced to the stunning Gillian Cosgriff as a part of the scheme to bring the Australian Cabaret Showcase Award winner to Adelaide. Similarly this year, Angela Harding wants to get to know Adelaide audiences in her show, Just Like You… Only Different!

No stranger to musical theatre, Harding takes her audience through a winding journey of a life including marriage, auditions and school times.

Harding has a great voice, first and foremost.  Her contemporary sound with a dynamic range puts her singing at number one in the triple threat priorities she discusses in detail.  There are some funny numbers, including a very apt comparison of auditions to dating and the isolation of being married to a rugby supporter.

While individually each number is strong, this production lacks strength in its structure.  Thematically it is lacking and there are no cohesive transitions between stages to keep the audience by Harding’s side on her journey.

It is also difficult to empathise with a performer bemoaning “first world” problems like being an outcast because of a weird way she points her fingers or the fact that she was home-schooled. Great cabaret gives the audience a reason to be a part of the story – whether it’s an ability to empathise with the trials and tribulations of the performer, to laugh with them, or to cry with them.

Overall, Angela Harding is a great performer and her show was enjoyable entertainment for just over an hour but more workshop or directing work is needed to make this a production that can stand alone.

Angela Harding performed at the 2012 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, 9 – 10 June

For more information visit www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au