Culture Night Derry-Londonderry 2012: How Was It For You?

Si's Sights And Sounds saw many different things on Derry's Culture Night, but it was a vaudeville stage show that really, truly caught the eye

"What good is sitting alone in your room?" So sang the Cabaret. And couples everywhere, young and old, are formally dressed up in anticipation of talented Carndonagh chanteuse Ursula McHugh's arrival on the stage of Derry-Londonderry's Playhouse Theatre. The theatre itself has been ideally arranged for the occasion, with the traditional seating removed to make way for a series of round tables and chairs.

A medley of brass, string and drums, to the tune of - what else? - Cabaret - says "Wilkommen", "Bienvenue" and "Welcome" to not just the happy audience, but McHugh herself. Before long, everyone is taken in by a smooth rendition of "Let's Face The Music And Dance" - if there's a more appropriate opening song for such an occasion, I can't think of it.

Seemingly overwhelmed, but undeterred, by the applause, McHugh urges everyone to remember their first dance, their first kiss, even their first glance across a crowded room. Club Cabaret, as McHugh and her band members have named it, is a show about the benefits of nostalgia, a show about looking back and recovering old memories to inspire new beginnings. The atmosphere - a mixture of candles, flowers and expressive lighting - complements this.

Shifting easily between the slick and melancholy, McHugh fills the room with a dreamlike, romantic quality. Her takes on the best of Sinatra, Streisand and Piaf eventually transform the front of the Playhouse floor into Strictly Come Dancing with the lights on. It's undeniably both warm and uplifting.

McHugh is living proof of the fact that "it's never too late to follow your dream". She doesn't just hold back the years; she rolls them back. Effortlessly.

ELSEWHERE...

Kieran Griffiths provides Derry's walls with a bit of "classical comedy", with his twenty-minute version of George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer. Griffiths focuses on getting the most from the material through facial expressions, strong jokes, self awareness and anachronistic local accents. And it's a testament to the game cast of Nicky Harley, Louise Conaghan, Alan Wright and Peter Davidson that this succeeds as good entertainment.

Meanwhile, in the Verbal Arts Centre, gamers rub their hands together with glee as they're given the opportunity to take on people at Call Of Duty, Tekken, Kill Zone and Super Street Fighter 4, thanks to the lads and ladies of UU Magee Core. Back in the Playhouse, Open Mic sessions are going on downstairs, with the mellow music of Colm Herron, Django Reinhardt-inspired Paddy Ndombe, and the raw soul of David Mulhern impressing small crowds. Music fans also have the Paddy Nash-esque Murder Balladeers to turn to, in the square of Cafe Del Mondo... all while a light show with drums, otherwise known as Tribal Fire, is going on nearby on the walls! And if all that isn't enough to satisfy one's tastes, there's still the chance to meet Joan Armatrading in a commotion filled Millennium Forum.

For this writer, Ursula McHugh is the clear winner on Culture Night 2012. But everyone on the night is a winner in their own unique field.

(Video footage courtesy of Rory McSwiggan and Culture Northern Ireland.)