Life According to Kate | Adelaide Fringe 2021 review

The respect Megan Doherty and Emma Knights have for Kate Miller-Heidke’s music permeates the set list and delightful banter.

Life According to Kate.

Life According to Kate

Music / SA

Rating: ****

Open Air Theatre, Black Box Theatres @ Adelaide Botanic Garden

February 26-28

It takes guts to perform a show devoted to the work of singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke.

The award-winning artist straddles the worlds of classical music and contemporary pop (and has one of the best sets of pipes in the business).

The respect that classically trained, Adelaide-based performers Megan Doherty and Emma Knights have for Miller-Heidke permeates the set list and the delightful banter in between songs.

Together, Doherty on the mic and Knights on keyboard, they delve into the star’s lesser-known back catalogue. There’s a sweetness to these two. A familiarity that comes from years of friendship and performances together.

Against a Botanic Garden backdrop, they perform the Miller-Heidke tunes that resonate with them. You can’t help but feel the love – and the musical synergy.

Songs include Eurovision belter Zero Gravity, A Quiet Voice (from the album Child In Reverse) and Humiliation (from Nightflight). The album Little Eve is particularly meaningful to Doherty; it provided company on the long drives from Adelaide to Ballarat where she studied her degree.

The humorous and thought-provoking Ducks Don’t Need Satellites is a highlight, as is a beautiful rendition of Last Day On Earth and operatic The Rabbits (a musical theatre work based on the book by John Marsden).

As creative love letters go, it’s unforgettable. Even a pair of rainbow lorikeets cock their heads and stop their chatter to listen.

Miller-Heidke is an artist who sings lines that would usually be performed by an instrument. No pressure then. If they’re feeling it, these two don’t show it. When they harmonise together, magic happens.

It’s not pitch perfect, but it is a beautiful, heartfelt tribute – and one that increased my appreciation for Miller-Heidke and her breadth of work. Bravo.