Writer: Debbie Bridge
Director: Rebecca Gadsby
Shirley Knot the Siren was inspired by seasoned cabaret performer Debbie Bridge’s bath time thought, “What happens to all the older mermaids?” Having been dwelling on the ways in which mid-life women are ignored, it suddenly made sense to create a character she’d never seen depicted: a fun-loving, sequin-scaled siren in her seagoing prime.
Anyone noticing the word ‘Halifax’ on the show’s flyers – source of a ‘Hot Seat’ fringe award – might think there’s a Yorkshire slant to the piece, but no, it’s Halifax as in Canada, Debbie’s home by way of New York, although she’s now on UK shores for the foreseeable.
Heralded by an alliterative array of expectation-ramping titles, Shirley sashays onstage through the audience. She presents herself in all her scallop-bra’d, fishtailed, rhinestone-armbanded splendour and boldly opens the show with “I’ll make you see, I’m confident in me.”
Bassey-brassy, with impressive range, sustain, and hints of Cher, Celine and (of course) Ethel Merman, Bridge has clearly had operatic training. Her speaking voice is attractive too, confiding in tone, with Marilyn Monroe breathiness.
Serenely attired to expose expanses of flesh, Shirley shows off her ‘bingo wings’ (“they help me glide through the waves”) while bewailing the marginalisation of menopausal mermaids and sirens with sciatica. Her prolific one-liners, puns and re-worked lyrics – the calibre of “How does a siren take her Captain Morgan? On the rocks” and “Kelp! I need somebody” – are endearingly groan-inducing.
Shirley’s narrative arc is ramshackle (something of the Frankie Howerd about it), but there’s charm and warmth to the whole process. At one point, claiming she’s fallen prey to “a little sea fog”, she dials the show back to reinstate a missed song: an adaptation of Memory from Cats. The audience readily interacts with her, succumbing to sing-alongs and coconut-based chairobics.
There are missed opportunities here for voice-shattered glasses, swirling seascapes via advanced lighting, better gags and a more focused storyline. But Bridge is a charismatic belter-outer with real presence, and enough know-how to tweak the show to another level. It’d certainly be worth the extra effort.
Runs until 30 July 2025
Camden Fringe runs until 24 August 2025
