Velma Celli's West End Christmas (Concert)
Christmas in Leicester Square
Reviewed on Sunday 3rd December 2017 by Olivia Mitchell
★★★★★
Yesterday evening I hot-footed it from the Charing Cross theatre seeing Marisha Wallace's Soul Holiday concert, to the Spiegeltent in Leicester Square to see Velma Celli in concert and it was so worth the dash.
Velma Celli is the alter ego of West End performer, Ian Stroughair who's credits include Rent, Chicago and Cats; she is a fiery, shocking diva with the voice that dreams are made of! The first song set the tone for the concert with Velma entering from the back of the venue with a swooping, full of key changes version of 'Walking in the Air'. From then on it was joke after joke and belter after belter and was honestly one of the best and most entertaining concerts I've been to.
This alternative festive takeover was full of Christmas hit after Christmas hit and would have made even the coldest person feel festive. A personal highlight (although there were many) was Velma's rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' which was heartfelt and a lovely moment.
The cabaret also featured two of the West End's finest: Liam Tamne and Rachel Tucker (who I'd already seen at Marisha's concert!) who gave some fantastic performances. Rachel and Velma's duet of 'Fairtytale of New York' was absolutely hilarious and reminded me of many drunken Christmas nights! Liam showed off his smooth voice and crystal clear riffs in 'Last Christmas' whilst Rachel gave a moving performance of Joni Mitchell's, 'River'.
Overall this was just a fantastic night; Velma Celli is a born performer with a voice and personality that instantly draws the audience in and keeps them until the very last moment. If you want a hilarious night full of incredible talent then get yourself along to any of Velma Celli's future shows and be sure to download her recently released, self titled album.
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