For all the atrocities of the Second World War, it was a fertile period for great songs. These songs have almost become part of our DNA and a show featuring many of the well-known ‘Hits of the Blitz’ is an excellent idea from Emma Kaye-Hudson and Elizabeth Morrissey: The Blitz Sisters.
Although they have created a carefully rehearsed afternoon of nostalgia and have chosen some excellent musical material, The Blitz Sisters have a long way to go to make their show work. They are hidden behind their period 40s microphones, meaning the entire audience cannot see their mouths. It’s hard to listen to the lyrics when there is no connection to the singers. They have excellent Big Band backing tracks which have a professional shimmer and shine, so the Blitz Sisters need to step up to the mark. By adding more sparkle and vocal tone to their set, they would work with the tracks rather than competing with them. The duo need to work on their patter between songs: this was somewhat stilted and needed more of a warm, relaxed approach. We did see a glimmer of the real girls part-way through the set, when they commented gleefully about couples who had decided to dance along to the songs.
The choice of songs was excellent, but the George Formby number ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’ seemed to lose its innuendo, the Andrews Sisters songs lacked a third voice for the harmonies to work and a few medleys might have worked better than this string of individual numbers. With excellent costumes and such a great choice of musical material, the Blitz Sisters have the potential for a cute little show if they work on their patter, their staging and perhaps most importantly, relax.
