Let your fingers do the singing

It’s proved a winning formula for Queen, Abba and Rod Stewart. String a bunch of hits together and link them with a feeble storyline. But Caroline Parker has taken this crowd-pleasing genre into her own speciality, signed song. Kelly Mullan found herself singing along with the rest

Signs of a Star Shaped Diva is a one-woman show starring Caroline Parker as both dowdy Sue Graves, funeral director, and her glamorous alter ego, signing diva Tammy Frascati.

Gossiping with the audience from the intimate setting of her dressing table, Sue tells the joyous tale of the discovery of her inner diva, punctuating her make-up routine with highlights from her cabaret routine.

This show is a real crowd pleaser, the audience was cackling merrily and singing along and despite some cheesy numbers such as My Heart Will Go On, the only groans heard came when the curtain fell.

Having heard that Caroline Parker has been signing the same old songs for years, I went along with low expectations of what I perceived to be a one-trick pony but she did more than just translate the song words: her mix of sign, mime and dance enhanced the recorded music and I felt at turns, both moved and delighted. She can hike up the emotional volume on a song like The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and make you feel the pathos. Or she can accent the comedy in In These Shoes?

The script, by Nona Shepphard, is more than just an excuse to string together crowd-pleasing hits. Witty, earthy and Northern: it sounds like Alan Bennett trying his hand at the Mills & Boon formula, except that love of music wins out over any romantic clichés.

If you’re planning a hen night, check out the tour dates below.

19 & 20 April – Lakeside Centre, Nottingham

23 & 24 April – New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

27 & 28 April – Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

1-3 May – Theatre by the Lake, Keswick

5-9 May – Tobacco Factory (The Brewery), Bristol

14 May – The Hawth, Crawley

17-19 May – The Door, Birmingham

20-22 May – Royal Exchange Studio, Manchester