In a tribute to fellow Australian, Kylie Minogue, and with the aid of a tiara or two, Michael Griffiths returns to Edinburgh this year in his latest guise as the disco diva. With some cheeky hip wiggling, Griffiths sashays around the floor, hitting the perfect notes and camping it up with the help of dry ice and a disco ball.
Kicking things off with a very catchy I Should Be So Lucky, Griffiths obviously revels in the decade of big hair and Stock, Aitken and Waterman hits. From Kylie’s early days playing an innocent mechanic on Neighbours, and with a passing nod to Angry Anderson and that wedding, her life story moves on. As the soapy starlet matures, there is a subtle shift in musical style.
Griffiths reels off the hits, matching the tone of the music to key events in Minogue’s life. An allusion to romantic disappointment with Michael Hutchence provides the opportunity for some INXS. This is followed by a very poignant and moving Put Your Hand On Your Heart – more ballad-like than its original incarnation. It’s a testament to Griffiths that he can introduce such a mood shift with a bare flick of a switch.
There is a lot of good banter with the audience – viewer beware if you’re cute, male and sitting in the front row. One can forget amidst the laughs, of which there are many, that Griffiths is a hugely talented and versatile performer and a very accomplished pianist and vocalist. His energy, humour and sheer vitality is infectious.
Whilst not all of the audience may be word perfect on every Kylie number, this show will have you spinning around and doing the locomotion till the cows come home.