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Sally first appeared in cabaret aged 19 with her best friend, Dean Lotherington. Their first gig at the Australia Hotel, Collins St (which no longer exists!) & was the start of a long standing musical partnership lasting over 20 years.  

 

Sally performed on the cabaret circuit in London for over10 years at many iconic venues such as The Jermyn Street Theatre, The Hen & Chickens (Islington), Centrestage, Pizza on the Park, Simpson's On The Strand & The Piccadilly Hotel. 

 

After returning to Australia in 2004 Sally wrote KIDDING AROUND, followed by THE SALLY BOURNE IDENTITY (musical direction & arrangements by Dean Lotherington).  The show, at the Butterfly Club in South Melbourne, was a two season sell out & was performed at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2009. THE SALLY BOURNE IDENTITY was nominated for a Victorian Green Room award (Best Original Songs in Cabaret).

 

In 2010, Sally co-wrote YUMMY, with the magnificent Susan-ann Walker. The girls were headliners at the 2010 Melbourne Cabaret Festival followed by a season at the Seymour Centre in Sydney.  YUMMY was nominated for a Victorian Green Room award (Best Original Songs in Cabaret) in 2013 & they have just performed the latest instalment of their hit shows; SUBTLE at the MCShowroom in Prahran.

 

For more information on Sally & Susan-ann's cabaret shows please visit their page SUSAN-ANN WALKER & SALLY BOURNE.

 

WATCH....Jesus is My Boyfriend - written by Sally Bourne

 

WATCH....Seduction Song - written by Sally Bourne

Review

Adelaide Cabaret Festival

From child star, she was the original Annie, to mother of Alice and Archie, Sally Bourne explores a womans search for her own identity and takes her enthralled audience every agonising and amusing step of the way.

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She has a great voice and a warm personality that fills the intimate space, usually the Festival Centre boardroom. Almost everything she sings is her own work, accompanied by her friend from primary school Dean Lotherington at the piano.

You can see why her old friends want to hang around the most talented girl in the playground. From celebrity mummies getting their figures back, to celebrity deaths, she has witty takes on so many aspects of life.

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With excellent timing and fine audience rapport, she gives a highly energetic hours entertainment, with anecdotes of performing along side Madonna and Julie Andrews.

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She ends with that song from the show that started it all for her, Tomorrow from Annie, sung wistfully. After the Sally Bourne Identity she’s planning the Sally Bourne Supremacy, quipping that Robert Ludlum would be delighted, except of course that he’s dead.

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Adelaide Advertiser 

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Review

Sitting With the Fat Man

I'

Sitting With The Fat Man, March 6, 2014 ****

 

Sitting With The Fat Man: The Songs of Randy Newman, by Mark Jones & Sally Bourne 
Butterfly Club, Carson Pl, Melbourne, until March 9, 2914
Reviewer: Kate Herbert on March 6, 2014
Stars:****

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Mark Jones and Sally Bourne deliver a mischievous, witty and elegant tribute that illuminates and celebrates the work of American singer/songwriter, Randy Newman, in this fine cabaret, Sitting With The Fat Man.

 

Newman, the titular Fat Man, boasts an exceptional career that includes Oscar nominations and awards, tunes for Pixar movies and a rucksack stuffed with political, satirical songs, many of which are featured in this show.

 

Jones is a consummate performer with a charismatic stage presence, wicked sense of humour, impeccable comic delivery and, of course, outstanding piano playing and a rich voice.

 

He pairs with Bourne’s bright, tuneful tones and gentle charm to present a cunningly chosen repertoire that ranges from the cheeky, silly song, Pants (“Take my pants off”) and the infamous Short People, to dark ballads and relentlessly sardonic attacks on US politics.

 

Jones sits at a piano in front of a scarlet, velvet curtain, while Bourne prowls around the small stage and both engage the audience directly in the warm, intimate space of the Butterfly Club.

 

What is compelling and extraordinary about Newman’s writing is that he creates a complete world within each song, with a narrative and fully formed, credible characters that speak to us through the prism of Newman’s emotional or satirical lyrics.

 

My favourite, Political Science, also known as Let’s Drop The Big One, is a scathing, acerbic criticism of the US government’s militaristic empire-building and the song even proposes turning Australia into a theme park; the irony was lost on many Americans who’ve had their irony gland removed, evidently. 

 

The Great Nations of Europe turns Newman’s political wrath onto the 16th century invaders who decimated entire cultures, while Sail Away criticises the slave trade that brought Africans to America.

 

Newman’s themes are sometimes grim, an example being In Germany Before The War, a portentous song from the point of view of a man watching his little, blonde girl – but the horror is that the character is based on a pre-war serial killer.
 

The song selection includes love ballads such as I’ve Been Wrong Before, When I’m Gone and Real Emotional Girl, while the final medley includes a cute version of You Can Leave Your Hat One, the raunchy number made famous by Tom Jones.

 

If you love Randy Newman or just crave a terrific cabaret, you’ll relish this delicious evening of superbly performed songs, and I hope Jones and Bourne get a longer season.

 

By Kate Herbert 

Photography & videos: 3 Fates Media

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