The real hidden gem of the festival 23 Aug 2005
reviewer: Kiran , United Kingdom
Holly is proper cabaret. She emotes. She sings like a goddess. She wears ridiculous clothes. (Oh yes, and she's got a fantastic four piece band.) I thought she was splendid, and I bet you will too. She's not in the big blue brochure, so you need to go and discover her for yourself. She's on at 11.15pm, so she's perfect for a spot of late evening entertainment. Go and see her - I promise you won't regret it.
Go and if you've already been go again! 23 Aug 2005
reviewer: ian white, UK
Lively, entertaining, funny, high quality. Superb songs, strong vocal talent. Excellent four piece jazz band. Be entertained, feel loved and looked after and enjoy! Book, go and book again! A+
holly 23 Aug 2005
reviewer: Tim , UK
the best show ever... funny, musical, emotional, entertaining, powerful, outstanding. You've just got to go.
Magic 22 Aug 2005
reviewer: Nathan, United Kingdom
Read a 5 Star review of this in ScotsGay magazine and so went along. Holly is barking mad, and she shows it. But she holds it together wonderfully for the balleds - almost moving me to tears. An emotional, laugh out loud, tearjerking, brilliant show.
come to the cabaret ! 17 Aug 2005
reviewer: gjp, uk
I had no idea what to expect, and this turned out to be an absolute ball. Holly Penfield is barking mad, a born performer, and has an absolutely awesome voice. She spends a lot of time putting on strange outfits and wigs from the dressing-up box, and roams all over the stage (and the audience) singing everything from Marilyn Monroe to Joni Mitchell. Her backing band (piano, drums, bass, sax) is fabulous, too. And you even get celebs in the audience (well, Gyles Brandreth) plus they do a mean tequila cocktail at the bar afterwards. Fantastic!
Judy Garland with more Pizazz! 17 Aug 2005
reviewer: Sean Davis, USA
This ranks first of the 69 acts I have seen so far! Rankings and similarly short reviews of all the shows I have seen can be found at http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~davis/fringe/Reviews.htm Singer/songwriter Holly Penfield, backed by a jazz quartet, takes over the whole room with her combination of sometime sexy, sometime campy, and always great singing. Most of the audience gets a little personal attention from her during the show, and if you really want to have fun sit in the front row! My actor friend suggested that aspiring entertainers should come to the show just to see how to really work a room. In the interest of full disclosure, and fond memories, I should note that I shared a drink with her father after the show. His family grew up about five miles from me in the San Francisco Bay Area, though I did not know her. (Aug 16)