Signs of a Star-Shaped Diva

As befits her name, Sue Graves, is an undertaker, running the family ­business started by her great gran, Mabel, who turned to the dead when her heart was broken. Quiet, single and ­heading ­reasonably contentedly towards ­middle age, Sue finds romance when she meets Lawrence Stone. It is love at first sight for the couple whose conjoined names are "the Grave-Stones". But Sue, who is deaf, has a secret. By night, the ­unassuming Sue becomes the ­glamorous Tammy Frascati, who performs the hits of our greatest divas using British Sign Language in a local night club where she has become a cult hit. Dusty, Peggy, Ella, Billie and all the other broken-hearted singers somehow sound more bereft and more distilled when their songs are overlaid with BSL. Deaf actor Caroline Parker has her own successful cabaret act doing just that and this monologue, with its all-star cast of divas, adds narrative and ­character to that simple and effective idea. The resulting production by Graeae theatre company is an ­enjoyable ­compilation show with a difference, which is ­accessible in more ways than one. I particularly enjoyed the witty ­rendition of Eartha Kitt's tongue-in-cheek, gold-digging ditty, Just an Old-Fashioned Girl. Parker, although ­suffering from a confidence-sapping chest infection on opening night, is a warm and engaging presence, and it all slips down as ­easily as iced frascati. Every hit is woven seamlessly into a story that reaches a punchy climax. The show even manages to work in Stand By Your Man without a blush, although the script and production have their flabby moments. At over two hours, it is in danger of outstaying its welcome, but when this sharpens up, it could be a genuinely guilty pleasure.