AWARDS

Review 2024

We’re in luck: Kate Butch is workshopping her jukebox musical: Bush! to audiences at the Fringe this Summer. With protagonist Kathy (a la Wuthering Heights) at the helm, we follow her journey navigating trials and tribulations—informed, of course, by Kate Bush lyrics.

With help from the audience, Butch builds Kathy’s world using a technique she gleaned from the swathes of jukebox musicals on the musical theatre market which she calls, ‘musical shoehorning’. This is where song lyrics are taken out of context and drive the narrative which, when Kate Bush is concerned, is guaranteed to be a wacky ride. But you don’t have to be a fan of the Bush to appreciate the ridiculous storyline; Butch’s references speak for themselves, providing material that is utterly hilarious in its own right.

Transforming audience members into ‘young Kathy’, ’James’, ‘Kathy’s (dead) dad’, a priest and ‘Kashka from Baghdad’, the audience are involved from the start and, naturally, hilarity ensues. Ever sarcastic and witty, Butch riffs with the crowd with great aplomb, demonstrating her keen improvisational comedy skills that never fail us.

Butch’s singing talents are equally impressive as she performs a variety of Bush songs (an octave lower) live, boasting spectacular vocals and magnetic physicality. She truly owns the stage with a commanding presence that makes her effortless to watch. But it’s not all visual gags and raunchy humour: Butch takes your breath away with heartfelt renditions of This Woman’s Work and And Dream of Sheep, where her dulcet tones and acting skills combine to produce stunning theatrical performances. Another stand-out moment is when Butch builds a non-copyright version of a Kate Bush song in front of our eyes (and ears), which is met with guffaws of laughter. And just when you think she’s impressed you enough, she ups the octave in a rendition of Wuthering Heights that will delight Bush fans and sceptics alike.

Intelligent, camp, sassy and down-right fabulous, Kate Butch’s Wuthering Shites is a stand-out at this year’s Fringe.

Perhaps driven by Kate Bush’s global resurrection thanks to the Stranger Things soundtrack, there is a veritable garden of Bushes decorating the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe. Each providing their own idiosyncratic take on the Ethereal One. Wuthering Shites is the offering from beloved RuPaul’s Drag Race alumnus, Kate Butch. 

Now The Recs has been lured into Drag Race contestants’ Fringe efforts before – only to discover that ten minutes of hilarity on the popular and heavily-edited TV franchise does not a one-hour solo show make. Let us tell you: no deal with God is required here – the drag goddess named Butch has a show with everything: songs, belly laughs, intelligence and a deep warmth couched in caustic wit.  And for a RuPaul Queen not always renowned for their runway looks, the most beautiful dress on the Fringe! 

Descending the venue’s stairs to the strains of Running Up That Hill, the show is automatically a hot ticket by virtue of Queen’s Dome being “the hottest room in the world”. “I’m knackered” Butch declares with typical Yorkshire frankness, before revealing the concept behind the show.

This is the first workshop for a brand-new jukebox musical called BUSH! (the exclamation mark is important) featuring songs from Kate’s back catalogue. Butch informs us that it’s not going to be a biographical like the Tina Turner or Drifters musicals – after all what would this particular singer’s story be? Wrote some songs and moved to Wiltshire? 

Instead we plunge into an altogether more adventurous and dramatic tale. Hilariously mocking how jukebox musicals have to bend the narrative to shoehorn the hits in, Bush! focuses on Cathy, a Northern lass. She’s asthmatic – cue Breathing. She becomes mother to an unusually-named child – cue Wow. Her father was mauled to death by government-sponsored dogs… You get the picture. 

There is some good-natured audience participation playing roles within the musical – their efforts mostly dismissed by Kate Butch’s eye-rolling and faux ingratitude. The proceedings are dominated by Butch’s mercurial, magnetic personality. She switches between the caustic and the charming in the blink of an eye. She can’t disguise her affection for the musical icon while mercilessly lampooning her lyrics and videos. She wrongfoots you constantly: raucous and unpredictable comedy suddenly disappears into surprisingly-delicate moments of pleasure. This Woman‘s Work has audiences expecting jokes but are offered a beautiful sincerity instead. Similarly, a standout take on And Dream of Sheep is tender and touching. 

Beneath the veneer of haphazard, Wuthering Shites is a well-constructed hour of pure entertainment by an act at the top of their game. You leave the Queen’s Dome exhausted from laughing. Forget King of the Mountain – all hail Kate Butch, the Comedy Queen of the Fringe!

REVIEW 2024

Perhaps driven by Kate Bush’s global resurrection thanks to the Stranger Things soundtrack, there is a veritable garden of Bushes decorating the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe. Each providing their own idiosyncratic take on the Ethereal One. Wuthering Shites is the offering from beloved RuPaul’s Drag Race alumnus, Kate Butch. 

Now The Recs has been lured into Drag Race contestants’ Fringe efforts before – only to discover that ten minutes of hilarity on the popular and heavily-edited TV franchise does not a one-hour solo show make. Let us tell you: no deal with God is required here – the drag goddess named Butch has a show with everything: songs, belly laughs, intelligence and a deep warmth couched in caustic wit.  And for a RuPaul Queen not always renowned for their runway looks, the most beautiful dress on the Fringe! 

Descending the venue’s stairs to the strains of Running Up That Hill, the show is automatically a hot ticket by virtue of Queen’s Dome being “the hottest room in the world”. “I’m knackered” Butch declares with typical Yorkshire frankness, before revealing the concept behind the show.

This is the first workshop for a brand-new jukebox musical called BUSH! (the exclamation mark is important) featuring songs from Kate’s back catalogue. Butch informs us that it’s not going to be a biographical like the Tina Turner or Drifters musicals – after all what would this particular singer’s story be? Wrote some songs and moved to Wiltshire? 

Instead we plunge into an altogether more adventurous and dramatic tale. Hilariously mocking how jukebox musicals have to bend the narrative to shoehorn the hits in, Bush! focuses on Cathy, a Northern lass. She’s asthmatic – cue Breathing. She becomes mother to an unusually-named child – cue Wow. Her father was mauled to death by government-sponsored dogs… You get the picture. 

There is some good-natured audience participation playing roles within the musical – their efforts mostly dismissed by Kate Butch’s eye-rolling and faux ingratitude. The proceedings are dominated by Butch’s mercurial, magnetic personality. She switches between the caustic and the charming in the blink of an eye. She can’t disguise her affection for the musical icon while mercilessly lampooning her lyrics and videos. She wrongfoots you constantly: raucous and unpredictable comedy suddenly disappears into surprisingly-delicate moments of pleasure. This Woman‘s Work has audiences expecting jokes but are offered a beautiful sincerity instead. Similarly, a standout take on And Dream of Sheep is tender and touching. 

Beneath the veneer of haphazard, Wuthering Shites is a well-constructed hour of pure entertainment by an act at the top of their game. You leave the Queen’s Dome exhausted from laughing. Forget King of the Mountain – all hail Kate Butch, the Comedy Queen of the Fringe!

review 2022

It’s always hard being the only one on stage… the constant attention! However, Kate Butch appears to revel in it. This drag show celebrates her favourite singer Kate Bush, lip syncing the songs and dancing, and – as well as looking absolutely fabulous in her outfit – Kate Butch brings an incredible energy to the stage. The relentless comedy leaves the audience in hysterics throughout, and her undeniably clever humour is especially well demonstrated in the rewording of these iconic songs. In this intimate venue, the audience can truly appreciate every fantastic element, so whether you like Kate Bush’s songs or not, or even don’t really know who she is, Kate Butch is guaranteed to provide a night full of hilarious fun.

4*

BUXTON FRINGE

Kiera michaelis

(MERVYN STUTTER’S PICK OF THE FRINGE)

review 2017

If you want a true “fringe experience” go to this show. It’s hidden away in the bottom of a nightclub in a venue that might fall apart. It has gimmicks and gadgets galore. It’s a stand-up-drag-act with a moving musical number and jokes about sex, rejection and sassy puns. It’s an incredibly enjoyable and genuinely hilarious way to spend an hour. Oh, and it’s free – so if you hate it you can leave. But you won’t. Because you’ll be laughing too hard or wondering what on earth could come next. In front of you stands “Kate Butch” an attractive and talented drag persona. In this debut hour of comedy Kate talks, sings and lip-syncs as a gay man, negotiating life in a charmingly sassy way. No topic is safe; loneliness, bowel movements, love, religion and fruit all come into the fray. Yet it never feels inaccessible or full of “shock factor” humour. It is well written and excellently delivered, with perfect prop use and startling facial expressions. Although a proper “fringe experience”, this is a hugely clever and funny-making remarkable debut hour. Watch out for Kate Butch.

Kiera Michaelis: Reviewer, Awards Assessor and Content Specialist for “Pick of the Fringe”

Buxton Fringe

Review 2017

The Underground Venues bar was packed for the first performance by Kate Butch and I was in the mood to be indulgent. After all, this was a local performer making their debut, someone we’ve got to know and like over the years in a different context. So far, so patronising.

I hold up my hand to this because this show was a complete revelation. Kate Butch is such a fully-formed creation and her performance is spot-on: intimate, confessional, and very funny. She stalks around the stage, lip-synching to outrageous mash-ups, confiding about coming-out experiences, triggering Powerpoint montages, effortlessly working the audience, suddenly not afraid to wring out the tear ducts of the audience with a beautiful, heart-wrenching show tune. It’s a bravura showing, so assured and well-judged that you can’t quite believe this is a debut.

Obviously it’s rude in places, but Kate is such a warm character, so aware of the audience that she doesn’t put a foot wrong. If you see a more joyous and genuinely funny show this year, I’d be very surprised.

Robbie Carnegie

fringe guru

BUXTON FRINGE PICK OF THE DAY - 20/07/2017

This can't, surely, be the first-ever drag act to use the "Kate Butch" moniker, but it's certainly the first to be home-grown in Buxton. The alter ego of an Underground Venues staff regular, Kate enjoys strong local support – and as she sings, lip-synchs and PowerPoints her way through an hour-long confessional, she gives the crowd plenty both to laugh and cry about. There's a genuine buzz developing around this show, and reports from the premiere last week suggest it's one of the highlights of this year's Fringe.

stephen walker

"It's a hit!"

I saw the long anticipated (since Tuesday) Kate If You Wanna Go Butcher last night and it was a triumph. If you were thinking “he’s a local lad, that nice chap from Underground, yes, that one, it’ll be fun”, well bollocks to that, this is a proper stand out show. I never laugh out loud, maybe snigger, but I was straying dangerously into guffaw territory. And a note to gladden the hearts of Buxton Fringe comedy aficionados, it’s a well rehearsed, well put together show, better prepared than virtually all the comedy we usually see.

Great moments outside after, real joy among the audience, but my favourite overheard conversation:

"Would you bring your mother? "

"Yes"

"Really? What about Auntie Nicky?"

Great show. Possibly too strong for Auntie Nicky though. 

MISC.

“Utterly hilarious” The Guardian

"A great comedian" - WhatsOnStage

"Had the audience in stitches" - The Reviews Hub

"A clear showstealer" - SGFringe

"What utter rubbish...it was a really bad experience' - JimmyMack5 on TripAdvisor