Review: Voices of Bond (rating 5/5)
Only a few movie franchises are as well known for the theme music as for the plots and characters. Being chosen as composer and singer of the next Bond outing is a passage into film legend.
Behind each song is a story, and that is the basis of this show, with a selection performed at a fast pace by a tight four-man group – neatly called 004 – backing a female vocalist who, for tonight’s performance, is Hannah Richards as the headline singer Phoebe Katis is unwell.
Richards, a young performer who is about to graduate from Music School, was a worthy stand-in with a beautifully trained voice and a great range. She is also performing in The Dolly Parton Story at the Fringe with the same Night Owl Production team. Her strongest performance in this show was Nobody Does it Better in which she showcases her clear diction and melodic tones.
The performance is cleverly narrated by a fictional representative of MI6 using a video screen projected above the stage. The audience is introduced to each of the eight songs using historical dates and facts about who wrote the music, for which film, and by which artist, which was insightful and added depth and knowledge to the show.
Highlights included an energetic performance by the lead guitarist who threw himself into the Quantum of Solace theme music (Another Way To Die) and the solo in Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die.
The set extends to Diamonds are Forever, Goldfinger, Licence to Kill, GoldenEye, and finishes with the Academy Award winning Skyfall.
If this performance could have been improved I would suggest some video clips from the Bond films, but if you are a lover of Bond’s musical magic you should make a date with this show.
The Space @ Symposium Hall, Amphitheatre 25 August
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