This review can be summarised in one sentence: James Bond fans will be in Heaven.
On Day 2 of the Fringe, Night Owl Shows have set an extremely high bar with 007 Voices of Bond, a live music performance of a collection of Bond themes. The performances are so spellbinding as to guarantee that even non-Bond fans will leave the theatre exhilarated. (Though, of course, the show is particularly inspiring for Bond fans like me who have listened to Shirley Bassey on shuffle often enough to have all of them memorised.) From Gladys Knight to Paul McCartney, Adele to Billie Eilish, to some unexpected choices that I didn’t anticipate would be included but was delighted that they were, it’s no wonder that the first show was entirely sold out. What’s more, between each song, the performers would deliver a short speech about the next track describing its production history on the timeline of Bond music. The event is thus welcoming and cohesive: it truly feels like an honouring celebration of the legacy of our greatest spy.
The true hero of this show, however, is not James himself – but ‘004’, aka Maia Elsey, our lead vocalist. After her Fringe debut last year, she is back, and here to stay. Dressed in 007-reminiscent black, she not only exudes class and charisma, but her singing voice is truly stunning. Bond music attracts an array of different styles with a wide variety of singers, and Elsey transitions between tracks effortlessly. She can open with an entrancing cover of Shirley Bassey’s silky “Diamonds Are Forever”, then, half an hour later, bang out Jack White and Alicia Keys’s decidedly unconventional Bond theme and make them both sound like they were designed for her.
To perform live music at the Edinburgh Fringe as a lead singer – especially when performing music as iconic as Bond – must be very nerve-wracking. Those nerves cannot have been helped by some (very slight) tech issues in the venue on the afternoon I attended. Yet Elsey oozes confidence and style. I found her inspiring to watch: she is a lesson in maintaining a classy persona no matter what. The lyrics of “Skyfall” were doubly relevant for her: “let the sky fall / when it crumbles / we will stand tall and face it all.”
While some songs were not included that, in an ideal world, would have been (Elsey’s voice would do great justice to Sheryl Crow’s “Tomorrow Never Dies”), the omissions were necessary and understandable. One Fringe show is too short to perform every Bond theme ever produced. However, most fans will find the absolute essentials present and correct: the Shirley Bassey classics, Billie Eilish’s “No Time To Die”, Adele’s “Skyfall”, Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die”, and Gladys Knight’s “Licence to Kill”, among others. My opinions on a couple of the themes even increased after hearing them performed live: neither the stylishness of “Diamonds are Forever” nor the admittedly catchy quality of “Another Way To Die” had occurred to me until now.
I had the privilege to speak to Maia Elsey afterwards, and the number of times our conversation was halted by other audience members praising her vocals is proof enough that I am not alone. Night Owl Shows smashed it out of the park. Here’s to their further Fringe success.
‘007 Voices of Bond’ runs from 5-27 Aug. Tickets are available to book here.
Image of Maia Elsey provided to The Student by Night Owl Shows.