Jojo Bellini @ The Stand
Cooking up a treat upstairs in the cosy Stand II, Jojo Bellini worked all our senses into a lather in her Kitchen Cabaret.
Jojo Bellini’s show is a sexy, interactive and full-on sensory croonfest to the tunes of Tom Jones. Her unquestionable enthusiasm, ably demonstrated by her seductive smacking of the bottom of an aluminum can or the molesting of a long leek, makes up for vocal talent not quite in the same range as the legendary Welsh sexbomb.
Some sexual jokes fall flat; for example, the roast rub one didn't quite work on our visit. Perhaps surprisingly, the interactive masturbatory bit with a lazy susan was less enjoyable than this description makes it sound, but the audience volunteer would disagree. It's arguable, but the smell of onions permeating the room maybe wasn't the best aroma for such a sensual show. Then again, Bellini is compelling to watch throughout. Her show is mad and delightful in equal servings, particularly during the pinnacle where she’s cooking, singing and dancing amid clouds of hot steam while simultaneously cueing the audience to the chorus of Burning Down the House.
Kitchen Cabaret is an original show, and only stumbles due to being different rather than boring. It's a great tutorial on cooking to Tom Jones, plus it's pretty sweet to have soup and dessert at the end. We came away smiling that cooking can be made such fun.