Tricity Vogue gets her kicks from having somebody strum her ukulele that sits on top of her head. Such an honour is bestowed upon the winner of the ‘Uke of Edinburgh’ award which is nightly awarded to the best of four participants at the Ukulele Cabaret, as voted for by members of the audience.
The show features, in essence, a whole host of, yes you guessed it, ukulele players, of varied musical ability, performing in hope of winning the coveted prize. Each act is given the floor and tries to sway the audience vote. There were original songs, old favourites and even a spot of ukulele tennis. Our evening featured such a diverse range of subject matter from the trials and tribulations of an aspiring actress and the failed love/ sex life of another performer. Thrown in were some toe-tapping classic favourites and the opportunity for a sing a long, or a strum-a-long (if you given a much coveted ukulele) or kazoo-a-long (a so-long undervalued instrument).
The atmosphere is fun and relaxed, with people popping back and forth to get drinks to keep spirits high. It took me a while to be comfortable with quite how much the ukulele looks like an unnaturally small guitar, but once I was able to put that aside, I too was captured by this miniature musical marvel. The fact that the line up is constantly changing means that there is constant variety and as such something for people of all ages to enjoy.
