Peter Straker: I'm Still Here...

Born in Jamaica and raised in England, Peter Straker shot to fame in the original London production of Hair. He was also good friends with Freddie Mercury. In a show billed as a mix of songs and anecdotes about Straker's life, that's not much in the way of anecdote. In reality, the focus is very much on Straker's voice. And that's a very wise choice indeed.

For Straker is blessed with a truly remarkable voice. Expressive and versatile, and possessing a huge range, he strides through a diverse range of styles with a strong sense of musicality and an actor's talent for delivering song lyrics.

But, in spite of Straker's singing, this is a show with a real flaw. Though slated as another collaboration between Straker and director Mel Smith (he of Not the Nine O'Clock News fame), it's not entirely clear what Smith has contributed. For, rather than a strong artistic vision, what characterises I'm Still Here... is real inconsistency in terms of what it is trying to achieve.

At its worst, it tries to earnestly recreate a cabaret/lounge act atmosphere and simply falls flat. In an attempt to attempt to recreate a style which is by now distinctly outmoded, it takes itself far to seriously and comes across as embarrassingly passé.

At its best—a suitably sceptical rendition of Jimmy Webb's faux epic 'MacArthur Park', or a gloriously rough-round-the-edges Jacques Brel number—Straker (and Smith) recognise the faded, perhaps irretrievable glamour of the style. It's at once artful, humorous and surprisingly moving.