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Christine And The Queens (Redcar): Royal Festival Hall, London – live review

Christine And The Queens (Redcar) London, Royal Festival Hall 22nd Nov 2022 In an ambitious and theatrical stage show, the singer who enjoyed so much acclaim as Christine And The Queens is sensationally transformed into Redcar. Tom Parry sees the artist formerly known as Chris taking bold steps with a radically different performance. When I […]

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Christine And The Queens (Redcar): Royal Festival Hall, London – live review

Christine And The Queens (Redcar)
London, Royal Festival Hall
22nd Nov 2022

In an ambitious and theatrical stage show, the singer who enjoyed so much acclaim as Christine And The Queens is sensationally transformed into Redcar. Tom Parry sees the artist formerly known as Chris taking bold steps with a radically different performance.

When I saw Christine And The Queens live in the early summer of 2019, the singer, born Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier, was in triumphant form, and on the brink of mega-stardom. During a compelling set, with heart-wrenching vocals which somehow dovetailed perfectly with the funky, foot-perfect choreography, the huge crowd in London’s Victoria Park was putty in Chris’s hands.

This week the new artistic incarnation of Christine And The Queens, now known by the stage name Redcar, made his debut at the Royal Festival Hall, and the gig was a very different proposition. The third part of a “psychomagia” trilogy which started at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris earlier in November, it was a startlingly different artist who took to the stage.

Redcar, so called because of the red cars he kept seeing in 2020 after his mother’s death, was completely alone on stage. Gone was the crew of dancers which synced with every move so successfully before. Most of the material from the first two hit Christine And The Queens albums was dropped too.

Christine And The Queens (Redcar): Royal Festival Hall, London – live review

The set was an elaborate surreal dreamscape, with props that were sometimes more distracting than the songs, perhaps intentionally. There was a lot of introspection, and a lot of interpretation required from the audience. It was, dare I say it, slightly bewildering and, just occasionally, bordering on pretentious.

But, the inflection in Redcar’s voice was truly affecting, especially in one track towards the end of the show when he balanced on a crescent moon – one of the most evocative parts of the set. Costume changes added to the sense of an elaborate plan.

Sometimes the themes became muddled, but one of the main ideas involved Redcar taking the role of a circus ringleader, as he shimmied across the stage. The level of theatre was so intense that on occasions it was harder to focus on the downbeat synth sounds which came from a backing tape, tweaked only occasionally by the singer from a console on stage.  Like the dancers, live instruments had gone too.

Admirable though it is to see an artist with such a reputation and success reinventing himself completely, on the basis of this one-off gig Redcar might not have the same catchy mass appeal. Before, the emotion in Christine And The Queens was resonant because of the counterpoint with the slick, subdued beats. Even if the lyrics could be slightly obtuse, the feelings in the music were relatable.

It was, however, an intriguing and unforgettable gig, a brave break with convention.

Next year, it will be fascinating to see what Redcar comes up with when he returns to the South Bank to curate the Meltdown festival.

Christine And The Queens (Redcar): Royal Festival Hall, London – live review

You can find Christine And The Queens online here: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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All words Tom Parry. More writing by Tom on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive He tweets as @parrytom

All photos by Gaelle Beri

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