Reviews of popular Isle of Wight event Wight Proms 2023

The first few nights have been well-supported at Northwood House, with the lawn lined with fold-up chairs, the audience laden with picnics and the stage welcoming a long list of top performers.

Here's our reviews so far:

Joe Plumb went to Wight at the Musicals:

Wight at the Musicals was a beautiful evening of performances from a highly experienced cast of West End stars.

Daniel Boys brought his charm, cheeky smile and sensational voice and had the audience joining in with Any Dream Will Do.

Oliver Savile’s experience showed with hits from Wicked and Phantom of the Opera. Savile is a strong performer and a true gentleman, giving his jacket to a very cold Laura Baldwin.

Baldwin delivered a number of beautiful solos including A Whole New World from Disney’s Little Mermaid.

The real star of the night was Rebecca Lock, whose stunning voice blew the audience at Northwood House away. Her spectacular renditions of classic musicals were a real treat to watch.

It would have been nice to have more of a mix of musicals than just the big hitters, some beautiful songs from lesser well known shows as, especially in the second half, the song choices weren’t that exciting.

It was, however, a lovely evening’s entertainment with a cast of ridiculously talented performers.

Ebb Phillips went to Isle of Pride:

This was a night to remember. As a huge fan of drag (and all things camp) I was familiar with the performers prior to the show. 

As I entered the elegant and gracious setting of Northwood House, I had some slight apprehensions about how these very adult nightlife acts would translate to this ‘Champagne on the lawn’ setting.

The entertainment began with our host for the evening, The Traitors contestant and icon of ‘hun culture’, Amanda Lovett. 

Lovett was witty and endearing, speaking about how the queer community has embraced her since her time on the BBC. 

She also delivered lip-sync performances of Gloria Gaynor’s disco classic I Will Survive and John Denver’s patriotic Take Me Home, Country Roads.

The first drag performer was Island celebrity and home-grown talent, Quivers. First, there was an excellent ten minutes of hilariously sharp stand-up comedy with local references in abundance. 

My fears of an unprepared crowd were soon put to rest by Quivers, who quickly won over the audience with her masterful mic work and relatable humour (extra finger Islander jokes always get a triple thumbs up from me). 

In the second act, they performed a high-energy, live vocal, megamix of eclectic songs. It was magnificent to behold Quivers running laps of the crowd with high kicks and deep squats in an impressive feat of drag endurance. 

Next up was Drag Race UK's Baga Chipz who took to the stage in a Liza Minnelli style kaftan and performed technically impressive live vocal numbers.

These Included When You’re Good to Mama from Chicago and a delightfully lewd version of Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again.

Between numbers, the banter and her signature shockingly foul sense of humour was received well by the audience.  

The final performer was drag clown Jimbo. As the current reigning winner of Rupaul’s Drag Race; All Stars, Jimbo had high expectations to live up to, and did not disappoint. 

Jimbo performed a lip-sync to Lu Kala’s Pretty Girl Era, bouncing past camping chairs in a full latex bodysuit with pink hair and a magnetic, chaotic energy to match. 

To bring the evening to a close, Jimbo performed her downright iconic Bologna Ghost act to Bjork’s It’s Oh So Quiet. This culminated in her wandering through the audience tossing deli meats at them. 

Even if they were unfamiliar with her, Jimbo will have certainly left her mark, and possibly traces of bologna, on this audience.

All in all, this was a brilliant evening of wonderfully eclectic drag entertainment. It’s so brilliant to see LGBTQ+ performance being celebrated on the Island more than ever, and it’s wonderful to feel we live in an increasingly open hearted community.

Lori Little went to Isle of Country

In a first for Wight Proms, there was an evening dedicated to country music.

Whether you were an afficionado or just there to hear some pleasant easy-listening music, all the boxes were ticked by the fantastic performers, Sarah Jayne as Dolly Parton and Andy Crust as Kenny Rogers.

They also swapped their wigs and outfits to throw in some Shania Twain and John Denver too.

Accompanied by the Country Superstars Band, with Island drummer Jamie Woodford as part of the line-up, the music was a joy to listen to.

The song choices were the pick of the crop - and there were lots of hits to choose from! 

Cue lots of audience participation arm-waving at Here You Come Again, singing along to Take Me Home Country Roads, swaying to Islands in the Stream -  you get the picture.

It was a night of pure enjoyment and everyone left with smiles on their faces.

Still to come this week are Isle of Opera tonight (Thursday), A Wight Laugh (Friday), Dance the Wight Away (Saturday) and Last Wight of the Proms (Sunday).