Review: SOMETHING ABOUT ALWAYS PULLS ON A LIFETIME OF HEARTSTRINGS at Hayes Theatre

It's funny how some of the most iconic moments, the most important figures in one's life can go by unnoticed, until one takes a raw moment of honesty and clarity when those easily emerge. I wonder if Simon Burke felt something like this as he brought a life's worth of story and song before us at the Hayes Theatre, for it's certainly what the audience were feeling. In a show truly genuine and generous, Burke played remarkably in the moment, to present his audience with a journey that warmed the cockles of the Hayes Theatre Cabaret season's heart.

Each musical moment marked an incredible time in Burke's life, whether it was premiering as the child star of one of Australia's most controversial films, playing the third Marius ever in Les Miserables, scoring a spot opposite Dame Judi Dench on the West End, or finding lasting love, crossing the planet, now working to flourish the professional industry on home soil. And of course who can forget his charming smile greeting Australian kids everywhere on Play School at 3pm? This gay millennial certainly can't.

The musical selection comes chiefly from the album released recently of the same name, produced by Burke and the superb pianist Daniel Edmonds, who accompanied him on stage. Burke delivered Les Mis' Empty Chairs and Empty Tables with depth and all-too-contemporary compassion, his not-so-child-friendly version of I Don't Know How to Love Him as witty as saucy, and his rendition of Song on the Sand brought all love back to life. Although Burke was attending to what seemed to be an intense case of shoulda-rethought-the-smoke-machine, his voice was strong and sensitive, coaxing a tear to the eye during Man to Man, written by him and Edmonds for the local film Super Awesome!

A life-and show-that certainly bears repeating, for those of you who missed it, fear not! You can snag the album on iTunes, which does indeed include The Cuddle Song, for one thing. For another, Burke will be standing alongside more Australian talent for a benefit concert on July 11th From Sydney with Love to support victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that vastly impacted the LGBTIQ community across the world. He'll also be assuming the divine guise of Edna Turnblad in the Hairspray Arena Show coming to Newcastle in a fortnight!