The premise for this caberet show Take the L out of Lover is a string of characters attending an AA meeting – Amorous Anonymous – all played by Aurora Kurth. The characters obliquely traverse the human spectrum from the innocent to the sinful, the angry to the ordinary.
One thing that is obvious from the outset is this lady can sing. And I mean really sing. During the course of the evening Aurora Kurth belts out a myriad of 80’s ballads, show tunes, contemporary songs and opera which left me thinking: what can’t this woman do? One of the highlights of the evening was an operatic tune showcasing the extraordinary range of Ms Kurth’s voice. The juxtaposition of feathered fans she manipulates during the number for innuendo serves as a fine example of simple yet clever comedy. The pianist on the night was a talented and steadfast accomplice, not missing a beat on any of the songs or interludes.
But unfortunately, a great voice doesn’t guarantee great cabaret, or laughs for that matter. With a premise like this, I’d expect there would be an abundance of material to play with but most of the jokes never stray far from your stereotypical lamentations of love and the opposite sex. Generally, the comedy only appeared to serve as distractive prop to Ms Kurth’s true talent.
Ms Kurth, herself, is a confident and energetic performer and appears to be giving it all she’s got. However, her characters seem more like caricatures, overblown and ahead of themselves. Cabaret characters are often extremes of the human condition but we still need to believe in them. Strangely, the only time I connected with a character was when Ms Kurth was off stage and pulled a bar tender into the routine. Perhaps because this character portrayed the normalcy of ourselves, it was easily believable. Ms Kurth seemed relaxed in character and it felt sincere. This portion of the show was genuinely funny.
Overall, the songs themselves did not always seem congruent with the framework. The discourse of some of the characters just didn’t seem to fit with some of the songs which often had me questioning where I was in the scheme of the show. I often felt disengaged.
Ms Kurth is clearly a talented singer. She has the kind of voice that can stop traffic, hell, her voice could probably engender world peace . So if you want to bear witness to this kind of talent, then this show is for you. But if you want a truly memorable night of cabaret then it probably isn’t.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details