Christina Bianco | Edinburgh Fringe 2019

     One year I’ll write all my reviews before the Fringe actually ends, but not this year! It’s been a busy month, and I’ve been late posting almost every time! Anyways, I still want to write about Christina Bianco’s show, because it’s well worth telling people about, and she’s going on tour next month! I actually saw her at the Fringe a few years ago, and I’ve seen lots of her YouTube videos, so I was pretty confident I would enjoy it.

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     For anyone who hasn’t come across her before, Christina Bianco is a singer and impressionist, performing songs while mimicking the voices of famous singers. She’s especially known for her ‘Unlikely Interpretations’, where she sings something you would never expect that particular singer to perform. And she’s excellent at it! Her impression are so spot on, often with the mannerisms of the singer included as well. She does exaggerate them somewhat, as is generally necessary for a good impression, and it makes it funnier as well.

    Because that’s really what her show is, it demonstrates her incredible talent, but is also side-splitting funny. I mean, when else are you going to hear Julie Andrews singing ‘Hot Stuff’, or Gwen Stefani doing ‘The Wombles’ theme tune? It’s not just singing either, she also includes a few spoken word impressions of famous actresses, reciting monologues that you wouldn’t expect from them either, which are equally hilarious!

     I’m a big fan especially of when she does a whole song and keeps switching between different voices (while one of the band members calls out each name, so there’s no confusion). She goes through so many in such a short space of time, and it’s very funny to watch the switch each time! She does the same thing with speaking actresses too, reciting a ‘poem’… which is actually the words to ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ theme tune, a brilliant idea! There’s even some improv included, when the audience picks a random singer and song out of boxes, and she has to do it on the spot, and doesn’t disappoint!

     While her impressions are hysterical, it’s also important to recognise her singing talent as well. Firstly, you need a big range anyway to do all of these different songs and impressions! But she also performed a couple of songs in her own voice, which shows off her own abilities, and her voice is lovely to listen to as well. These songs are less funny, and a bit more serious, but still very enjoyable.

    I actually got to see Christina a second time this year as well, as a guest in The Noise Next Door‘s show. I’ve reviewed them in the past (an improv group who do sketches and songs), and saw them a couple of times this year, and they are always outstanding and hilarious every time. Christina was brilliant with them as well, as she managed to get a couple of impressions into the show, but was also very funny and quick-witted with the improv as well.

    So all in all, she is so entertaining and funny to watch, and extremely talented in her impressions and her singing abilities, so I would highly recommend seeing her if possible! Brilliant!

Check out more from the Edinburgh Fringe 2019