Assured, waspish and witty sophisticates ‘Kit and the Widow’ gave a sparkling performance last night (Sunday 20th May – 9pm) at the Udderbelly. This delightful smorgasbord of satire – through music, patter and song, in the tradition of Tom Lehrer, Flanders and Swann and Anna Russell – was a real treat.
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Baritone Kit Hesketh-Harvey and accomplished pianist ‘The Widow’ leave no stone unturned as they slash and burn their way through contemporary mores from Andrew Lloyd–Webber (a thorough demolition job) to certain obscure practices which have gained popularity in roadside lay-bys in recent years. For this particular Sunday evensong’, they were largely preaching to the converted. Most of the audience were old hands, and the performers greeted younger audience members with more than a faint sense of relief and surprise. The anxiety is unnecessary. Yes, this style of cabaret is an acquired & slightly rarified taste, exclusive in the sense that the gags rely on a cultural knowledge broader than the current Top 40. But that is not to say that the younger generation do not appreciate it, or that other artists do not tread the path that Kit and the Widow have mapped for twenty years or more. Satire, we are told, should not be constrained. Political correctness can be very dull, but there is a line that their song sending up Gypsy/travellers seems to me to have crossed. Not very funny and full of obvious stereotyping, it was a rare lapse of judgement for such sharp writers. Such ill judgements aside, the self-styled ‘society and theatre cabaret act’ were warmly received, and repaid their appreciative ‘Brighthelmstone’ audience with flattery: ‘You can tell we are in a University Town’, they cooed, and for a moment, we could all be part of the (Cambridge) Footlights set. How marvellous! I think. | 
