I CAN KEEP A SECRET Dragonfly Bar + Dining Until 03 Mar 2012 Review by Jamie Wright While the Dragonfly Bar on Victoria Square isn’t exactly the best venue for a cabaret show – it’s far longer than it is wide, without much in the way of performance space – the five members of Babushka, (four classically trained sopranos, one who also plays violin, and their accompanist on keyboards) don’t let that stop them. Each takes a turn on lead vocals while the remaining three provide backup, and they deliver songs from a diverse range of artists including Kylie Minogue, Portishead, Kate Bush and Gotye, and mix in some soaring operatic numbers that will make you fear for the safety of the bar’s glassware. Things take a darker turn when they present an hilarious rendition of ‘Lotion’ by The Greenskeepers and – shocking this reviewer so much he nearly fell out of his seat – ‘John Wayne Gacy Jr.’ by Sufjan Stevens. Like so many contemporary cabaret shows there is only a tenuous underlying narrative concept; it seems more like a selection of songs with some jokes and anecdotes in between. But these aren’t without their appeal, with the highlights including the bit about the strict demands of classical training, and where one of the four explains how she revealed to her Catholic mother-in-law that she’s an atheist who’s been ‘faking’ religious affiliation since childhood in order to go to a good school. This patter isn’t always effective, and some songs work better than others. But those that do are great, mostly thanks to those powerful, soaring voices (unamplified, I might add); this, combined with the humour and charm of this talented foursome makes for a very enjoyable show. Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)