Komedia Brighton – 13th April 2025
Kate Butch: Wuthering Shites was chaotic, camp and brilliant, everything you could hope from a drag show taking on a classic artist like Kate Bush. It was gleefully irreverent and full of serious talent.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star, Kate Butch stormed the Komedia stage in their very own jukebox musical based on the songs of Kate Bush with nods to the star, her costumes and her iconic music videos.
Affectionately described as ‘kind of like if Mamma Mia had a nervous breakdown,’ this was Wuthering Heights as you’ve never seen it before. Heathcliff, Cathy and the moors got dragged through a glittery blender of pop culture references, cheeky puns, drag performance and unashamed silliness. It was equal parts musical theatre and a solid stand-up set.
The excited audience was on side from the start. Kate Butch had the room singing, shouting and cackling at jokes. There was a loose storyline about retelling Brontë’s classic but the show hopped through time, character and genre with a very fun disregard for logic.
There were also strong performances of some of Kate Bush’s greatest hits including Babooshka, Running Up That Hill, The Man with the Child in His Eyes and, of course, Wuthering Heights. Some were parodied and others were belted out beautifully.
Any Kate Bush fans were in for a treat. If you were after something subtle or understated, this might not have been your night. But if you like your literary classics served with sequins, sass and a side of filth, you were in exactly the right place.
Kate’s timing and improvisation skills are razor-sharp and they handle the crowd like a total pro. The jokes come thick and fast, some subtle, some absolutely not, but all got big laughs from the crowd.
The show was a great homage to Kate Bush and had something for her hardcore fans as well as those who mainly got to know her music through Stranger Things as well as a few quips about RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Wuthering Shites was a gloriously bonkers ride through the moors of parody. It was funny, scrappy, sarcastic yet full of heart with Kate Butch delivering a hilarious and charismatic performance.
Kate Butch Wuthering Shites review – 5 stars
Photo credit: Kate Butch.
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