1 December 2008

KIT AND THE WIDOW

Kit and the Widow met in the Cambridge University Footlights and immediately went their separate ways! Kit researched and produced arts documentaries for BBC TV, whilst the Widow  (aka Richard Sisson) worked as an itinerant musician and occasional waiter, until they reconvened at the Comedy Store during the dark days of the Falklands Crisis.

Their stylish musical humour soon catapulted them into the ozone layer of the theatrical firmament. As well as the principal cabaret venues and Park Lane hotels, they had sell out shows at the New End, Kings Head, Donmar Warehouse and Albery Theatre and twice at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. They have pitilessly perpetrated their art in the provinces - the Swan, Stratford, Colchester, Canterbury, Brighton, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Darlington and beyond. Five giddy years on, the Edinburgh Fringe culminated in 1988 when they played the Royal Lyceum Theatre as part of the official Edinburgh Festival, the first cabaret artists since Dietrich to do so. They have been regulars at the festival ever since.

Their frenzied work for charity and world peace has taken them into the Palladium, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Victoria Palace. The have sung to the khaki of our Brave Boys in the Gulf and Afghanistan and to the tiaras of Monte Carlo; from countless marquee fundraisers to the Cresta Centenary Ball in St Moritz; Henley, Ascot, Cowes and all but three members of the Royal House of Windsor. Their numerous TV appearances include several Wogans, Monkhouse, Des O'Connor Live, Sunday Night At the Palladium and the Royal Variety Performance. On radio they have frequently appeared on Start the Week, Stop the Week; Loose Ends; Round Midnight; Friday Night is Music Night and have undergone exploratory probes by Gloria Hunniford and Vince Hill.

When not performing and writing for Kit and the Widow, Kit Hesketh-Harvey is a writer of screenplays, opera translations and musicals. He lives in Norfolk with his wife, the actress Kate Rabett, their daughter Augusta and the Tibetan terriers, Throwback and Lady Mangetout.

Richard Sisson is a musical director and composer for Theatre About, Glasgow and the Traverse, Edinburgh. He has written three ballets based on the works of Katherine Mansfield for New Zealand Ballet and has composed much for the theatre, including the RSC. He lives in a converted windmill just outside Luton and is a great supporter and indeed a Vice-President of the Music Club, which has arranged several performances of his more serious musical works.

 Reviews

“They're back, they're even more brilliant than before...Kit delivers the songs with delectable camp and diction that could slice diamonds, while the boyish Widow sparkles modestly at the grand piano...between them they create moments of magical musical revue sans pareil." Sara Abdulla, Time Out

"The songs are chiefly remarkable for their linguistic dexterity, all lolloping rhymes and chic contemporary references...their own brand of musical satire, which is waspish, witty, and positively throbbing with innuendo."
Nick Curtis, Evening Standard

"They combine verbal dexterity with pianistic skill"  Michael Billington, Guardian

"The witheringly rude Nineties answer to Flanders &' Swann...literate and sophisticated...inventively filthy"
Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

"I left the theatre feeling I had enjoyed an hour or so of civilised fun."  Benedict Nightingale, Times

"Combining the allure of Flanders & Swann and Noel Coward with a healthy dose of Julian Clary...tinkling the ironies with class and camp...their penchant for innuendo is infectious."  James Rampton, Independent

"Painfully funny...their sweetly smiled, oh so well mannered put downs go for the kill every time...Michael Flatley, see this show and snarl. Cherie Blair, see it and die. Lloyd Webber, see it and sue."  Douglas McPherson, What’s On

For further information, visit www.kitandthewidow.com