The Bondi Festival is always a wonderful showcase of exceptional talent and this year, the Festival played host to an intriguing cabaret-style performance from Ally Morgan. The performance took place inside the Badlambs Barbershop, a barber shop which doubles as a makeshift performance venue in the evenings. 

Morgan is already an accomplished singer-songwriter, having debuted a number of successful cabarets. This performance combined a number of songs that Morgan had written to reflect upon her 20s, and a wide range of subject matter. With everything from songs about rental crises to traffic jams and queer identity, Morgan covered every subject from the mundane to the most fascinating with quirky and intricate songs. 

Morgan has a superb voice and at the moments when she chose to show it off in the show, it provided a real highlight for the audience. Her theatrical training came through in her voice and gave the songs a solid grounding, which allowed the focus to be placed on her songs and her story. 

Morgan is self-assured on stage and introduced the songs and their context well to maintain interest and engagement. This meant that the narrative felt largely cohesive, although there was a sense at times that some songs had been forced into the set to fit the ‘20s’ narrative when they had perhaps been written for a different context. 

While most of the songs were strong in their narrative function, the show lacked a few ‘knock-out’ pieces to show off Morgan’s voice. Many of the songs followed similar patterns and it felt as though there was some potential for development that the show missed out on by not injecting that power. When variety was attempted, there were occasions that it fell a little flat, with a club-style dance number that just didn’t really work in the space being an example of this. 

While it would have been great to hear a little more range in Morgan’s voice, her instrumental skills were varied and strong throughout. Playing a wide range of instruments (including the kazoo) and ably accompanied by her partner, Jack Angwin, Morgan was at her best when she allowed the instruments and her voice to shine. 

Overall, this was a promising show that highlighted what the Bondi Festival is about. Noting the constraints that the venue provided, Morgan and Angwin did their best to provide an engaging show that traversed a number of relevant topics for those in their 20s, with Morgan showcasing a great voice and instrumental skills in the process. While there was definitely room for some more powerful numbers, this is a show with meaning and passion by an artist who is one to watch for the future.

Rating: ★★★1/2

Ally Morgan – 18th July 2024 – Badlambs Barbershop

Photo credit:  Patrick Boland