Lorna Dallas, Crazy Coqs, Zedel, 21 Sherwood Street, London W1F 23 April 2025, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.

Lorna Dallas, Crazy Coqs, Zedel, 21 Sherwood Street, London W1F 23 April 2025,

4☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.

“Dallas sparkles.”

For one night only, but it is always worth checking just who is taking to the Crazy Coqs stage, Lorna Dallas brought her Smapshots show back to review some of the highlights of her long and distinguished career. She was a leading lady in musicals in the days when the role went to a sioprano who could sing and not someone who can shout with he help of the sound system before in the course of time taking to the cabaret stage. With Simon Beck at the Coqs grand piano she sang songs by  Jerome Kern – she spent two and half years here in Showboat as Magnolia – from Kismet, and some by Ivor Novello, way outside today's leading ladies' scope, who knew what a leading lady should get to sing if any one did. Dallas had stories to tell, chatted to the audience directly, took photographs of it – well she did produce her mobile phone – and recalled the past trying to juggle three jobs at once. In Kismet in the evening she also went on to late night Cabaret at the Savoy and during non matinee days flew to Germany and back in order to record the show in German which required some considerable dexterity. The bait to do the cabaret was she could get a daily seat at Wimbledon, but she never managed to get there. But why spoil her stories. She sprarkles, the voice is in good condition, the lady delights.

Lorna Dallas

Accompanist – Simon Beck.