Creators: Sarah-Louise Young and Russell Lucas
For those of us who heard Wuthering Heights sung by an unknown 19-year-old for the first time in 1978 (just a couple of years after Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody set new standards in video promotion), it was a memorable moment of her oddly distinctive sound. Yet, both songs, 50 years later, have become music classics. Bush herself only toured once in 1979 (until her 22-show residency at the Eventim Apollo in 2014), but her unique stage presence and musicality made a lasting impression on all who were lucky to see her.
Sarah-Louise Young must have been a big fan since she was 13 at school, as she has been playing the charismatic one-off for several years, from The Edinburgh Fringe to Australia. We saw her in the villain roles at the Poole Lighthouse in 2024 and 2025, so we know she is a talented performer, and it is a pleasure to finally catch An Evening without Kate Bush at the intimate Underbelly Boulevard Soho, where she has started a short residency.
It is a show for the fandom, or Fish People as they are known, a communal celebration and homage to the original artist, but she’s much more than a tribute act. Young is supremely talented, a natural comic, a fine singer and borrows her physicality frequently from great mime artists. Indeed, she suggests Kate Bush herself was mentored by the mime artist, Lindsay Kemp (1938-2018). It is a show that benefits from a deeper knowledge of Bush’s 105-song catalogue than the best-known hit songs to really appreciate the parody of her videos.
Indeed, half the audience declare themselves as super fans while the other half are required to attend by their partners or media. But she ensures it is inclusive, immersive and fun throughout, often gliding into the stalls to chat to some or persuade them onto the stage.
The show starts well with us all howling along to Hounds of Love, adoring the cape work in Wow and listening intensely to Babooshka in Russian! But there are moments that to the non-fan seem simply bizarre, like the appearance of two large eyeballs, and when Young is dressed as a snowflake at the opening of the Second Act. Yet when it works, it is superb. The backing vocals from two audience members to Lily are a delight, and the final run of The Man With The Child In His Eyes, Running Up That Hill, and, of course, a singalong Wuthering Heights is outstanding. It leaves you wanting an encore, but just as Kate Bush herself has left so many desperate to see her live, Young leaves the stage for a chat with fans in the foyer.
If you can’t get the real thing, then this is a fitting substitute, playful, heartwarming, and true to the spirit of the original, but delivered in a sparkling, witty performance by her surrogate. Kate is not there, but we all are.
Runs until 26 April 2026
