The Tiger Lillies blaze through the Seven Deadly Sins in a brisk one-hour set. Armed with accordion, piano, double bass and several other weird and wonderful percussion instruments as well as the eerie and high-pitched vocals, their sound is rich, original and infectious (although as the show is seated, you may have to be satisfied with just a bit of toe-tapping).
The original trio has seamlessly teamed up with fearless burlesque performer Ophelia Bitz (and her cleavage) and annoying puppet show Punch and Jude (Judy has had a sex change and married Punch), who illustrate each new sin with a cruel little play of their own. While Martyn Jacques’s gnarls, growls and falsetto often lift their lyrics to a truly bizarre and beautiful place, Punch and Jude’s cockney screeching often took the audience right out of it.
The Spiegeltent lends its intimacy perfectly to the Lillie’s dark and surreal gin-soaked musings. Their humour may be too unmercifully rancid for some (there are some walkouts, despite the audience’s mostly loved-up fans), but regardless of tastes and styles, you can’t deny the Lillies’ ability to put on a hell of a show.
4/5 
Yasmin Bushby
