Tash York is the Queen of Happy Hour!
With a crew of talented singers and musicians, Tash Yorke brought song, comedy, snark, brilliance, relevance, community and mental health to the forefront of this hour-long show. Her voice is powerful both in song and speech, her humour is self-deprecating, honest and so on-point – she even managed a reference to the Great Mt Barker Earthquake of 2022. Her Gorgeous sidekicks, also talented performers, dodged snark about the Malls Balls and gave superb support.
The audience were invited and encouraged to participate and did so freely and in a safe space, to produce a riff on drag, cabaret and music hall; both classics and originals were given the Tash York magic touch.
Tash York gave a great evening, touched on relevant recent topics, including the awfulness of the pandemic, but used empathy, lived experience and humour. Absolutely, authentically delivers what it says on the poster!
Even while focusing on giving us a good time in response to lockdown and pandemic, we knew that Tash had done it tough, but had found ways of talking herself through it, and come out the other side through music, community and art. She talked about the importance of self, and recognising when you need to be alone and when you need to be with people. Authentic, of our times but not saccharine. Done in an adult way and totally pitched at the audience.
These are not new topics, but common knowledge and it was great to hear Tash describe what many of us have experienced. Her discussion of the awfulness of 2021 resonated with me. She showed empathy and invited our empathy. Does she contribute towards reducing the stigma? Yes – anyone can do it tough and it takes community and self love (lots of self love – daily self love, according to Tash!) to get yourself through it.
Tash, in her conversation and music, normalised, shared and discussed difficulties that many of us continue to have with mental health. The audience were open to listening and loudly showed their support. Tash came over as a strong resilient woman who had recognised her struggles, given in to them on some days, fought back and won on others – in common with most of us, I’d say. Very normal, nothing laughed at or shamed. She also acknowledged the power of community in supporting those who are doing it tough.
We know that the arts have done it very tough in the last two years, so of course Tash is sharing what many of her community will have been through. She is also a voice for the Queer community yet another point of strength.
I loved this show. I smiled, laughed, clapped, sang the whole way through and appreciated what Tash and her crew were bringing to us. Skill, beauty, appreciation and joy. I’d recommend this show in a heartbeat.
5 stars
Photo by Jayden Byrne photography.
