Two questions are agitating patrons of the festival so far: has Camille O’Sullivan darkened her tone, if not her tune, and where is Diarmuid Gavin’s Chelsea-winning garden, initiated by festival director William Galinsky (who moved to the Norfolk and Norwich festival earlier this year)?
As the answer to the horticultural conundrum is that City Hall is in charge of that project, only the O’Sullivan gig at the Spiegeltent seems worthy of debate: singing Brel and Waits among others in a strong list to jam-packed audiences she seemed to pitch for an earthier, tougher mode which justified the warning that the show was most suitable for over 16-year olds.
For afficionados of her torchy cabaret style, nothing could have been better. O’Sullivan has an ardent but discriminating following and the reaction to her four-night programme has been enthusiastic. Even wildly so. These are the reactions the festival wants, and O’Sullivan practically guarantees them.
