If a friend is posting pictures of themselves back ‘then’ with heavy makeup, floppy hairstyles, cavalry trousers and white frilly shirts (and that’s the men) ask them where the epicentre of New Romanticism was in the UK.
‘Then’ was the late 70s and early 80s, and the coolest club in London was the Blitz, where a crazy young 20 something girl named Eve Ferret was one of its brightest stars. Recently she has returned to touring with her new, slightly mad, very eccentric DON”T BE SO SHELLFISH cabaret show coming to Ventnor Arts Club on Saturday May 10th. Tickets are now on sale and early buyers include people who love the very different (they won’t be disappointed) and others who knew her back in the day at Blitz.
Combining singing and comedy, Ferret is not known for being reserved. With James Biddlecombe as Biddie & Eve; their version of Cilla Black’s ‘You’re My World’, saw her wearing a Marie Antoinette wig and a leash, for other routines she ran across tables with a lampshade on her head, fell off pianos and caused mayhem on a nightly basis. Following the Blitz days, Ferret took her clubland experience and acted in productions such as ‘Absolute Beginners’, ‘Haunted Honeymoon’ and David Bowie’s ‘Jazzin’ for Blue Jean’ video.
Now, Ferret presents herself again, combining singing covers and original songs with bursts of surreal humour and infectious joie de vivre. ‘The whole point is that I love it,’ she says. ‘I want the audience to have a party as well. They’re as much a part of it as I am – it’s just I’m at the helm.’ The crucial element is Ferret’s unique personality: beneath a surface of scatter-brained charm lie depths of real emotion and a courageous love of the unexpected.
‘What you see is the truth,’ Ferret says. ‘It’s harder than putting on an act. You live and die by what happens next. But if something goes wrong it’s a gift. If you want it to be exactly correct every time, you might as well stay home and listen to a CD. If you want a good night out, pull the curtains down and wear them. Put a saucepan on your head. Actually, I once wore a saucepan on my head to the Blitz. And I pulled…’
EVE FERRET presents ‘DON’T BE SHELLFISH’ 8PM (Doors 7pm), 10th MAY VENTNOR ARTS CLUB, 13 High Street Ventnor, PO38 1RZ
Tickets: www.ventnorartsclub.com or telephone 01983 857060
