BWW Reviews: Kate Dimbleby, I'M A WOMAN, New End Theatre

George Dyer

I'm A Woman currently playing at Hampstead's New End Theatre is Kate Dimbleby's latest cabaret offering. In this one-act show she leads her audience through a selection of 20th century female singers and song writers, each of the featured women having "scratched at the limits of what was acceptable" in their time. Her song choices range from better known Jazz standards such as Nina Simone's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free", to lesser known gems like Dory Previn's "The Lady With The Braid", and even one of Dimbleby's original compositions.

What really shone through from the evening was Kate Dimbleby's warmth as an entertainer. The stories and anecdotes from her past, (including the recent birth of her second daughter) weaved the evening together drawing her small, yet vocal audience in to every song. The highlight of the show has to be her stirring rendition of Bessie Smith's "In the House Blues". The show is accompanied by Dimbleby's band The Honky Tonk Angels, with stand-out solos to be heard from Guitarist Chris Allard and an enjoyable performance from Jonty Fisher on Bass (and Ukulele!) The performance suffered somewhat from over-amplification in such an intimate venue, which was made clear by the more acoustic moments in her set.

Dimbleby's I'm A Woman may not scratch at any limits for the present day audience, but is a thoroughly entertaining evening, with a chance to hear brilliant renditions of songs which have unfortunately not stood the test of time from undoubtedly one of Britain's finest female Jazz singers.