Cabaret & Variety review: Laurie Black: Space Cadette, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

Synth-rock cabaret “humanphobe” Laurie Black is on a mission to get off the planet before the mess people have made of it drives her completely round the bend. So where better to head than the moon?

Laurie Black: Space Cadette, Voodoo Rooms (Venue 68)

Laurie Black: Space Cadette, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh * * *

There are just a couple of obstacles to overcome along the way, such as how to get there, how to survive on the lunar landscape and whether it will, in fact, be all it’s cracked up to be…

Black cuts a fabulously space-goth-y figure, combining retro visual elements of glamour, horror and science fiction with thoroughly up-to-date eco-concerns. Her patter is peppered with scientific facts both bizarre and troubling – from details of environmental degradation to outlandish claims made on off-planet real-estate – though the misanthropic vibe does risk leaving the audience at arm’s length. But then this is a show about alienation, both figurative and literal. It’s all buoyed along nicely by Black’s original songs – somewhere between or beyond Gary Numan-meets-Slipknot – and a cheeky Bowie or Radiohead cover here and there. Add in some cute handmade props and a warm heart behind the green froideur and you’ve got a cabaret spaceship worth beaming up to.

Until 25 August

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