MUSIC
Showing @ C Venues, until 29 Aug @ 14:35
As if students at Oxford University haven’t got enough to think about, scores of their theatrical societies have once again made their usual pilgrimage up to Edinburgh to be part of this year’s Fringe. As the university’s original female a cappella group, the Oxford Belles sing a selection of contemporary and classic pop songs from their latest album, Bellissima.
There can be absolutely no doubt that the Oxford Belles are extremely talented, and they clearly come from very musical backgrounds. Each piece having been adapted by members of the group, they create some beautiful sounds, and their harmonising is complex yet on the most part well tuned. Their skills are skin-tinglingly impressive for a group of students for whom this is presumably no more than a hobby, and the range of places they’ve visited off the back of their singing is envy-inducing.
It is, however, abundantly clear that they are “only” students. Their mis-matched uniforms make them look like innocent school girls instead of young women, and the staging leaves a lot to be desired. While some renditions are choreographed, most just involve bobbing from side-to-side, lacking any visual stimulation whatsoever. It’s uncomfortably quiet as the group rearrange themselves between songs, and ever-so-nice interruptions by members of the group to explain who they are and what they do comes across as very twee. This makes Bellissima a frustratingly amateur production, but with a few tweaks here and there the Oxford Belles have the talent and potential to present themselves as a more professional and well-established group.
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