A Star is Born! The Rise & Fall of Judy Garland

A Star Is Born

Judy Garland took to the stage at age 2, landed a movie contract at 12, won an Academy Award at 17, and impacted the music and movie industry for generations to come. She died aged 47. How did one of Hollywood’s brightest stars dim so fast?

Kerry Hiles tells the life story of Garland, using songs from Judy’s movies to accentuate the tale. Accompanied by Evan Perkins on piano, this one-hour cabaret played to several sold-out evenings in East London and won an Ovation Award at the 2019 National Arts Festival in Makhanda (previously Grahamstown) and the VFringe in 2020. The production has just returned from a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023 in Scotland, where it received glowing reviews.

This entertaining and sophisticated cabaret features well-loved classics like “That’s Entertainment”, “I Got Rhythm” and (obviously!) “Over The Rainbow”. In addition, the performance also showcases some of Garland’s iconic numbers such as “The Trolley Song” and “The Man That Got Away”, as well as some lesser-known surprise numbers that have delighted audiences: look out for “Hoe Down” and “If You Feel Like Singing, Sing”, among others.

Reviews have read:
“An engaging performance by a very talented singer and storyteller. Judy Garland’s tragic life story was told with passion and grace in an intimate setting.” – TVO, audience review

“Exceptional performance. A true story well told and beautifully sung. Highly recommended.” – Joy Roach, audience review

“Kerry Hiles does not try to impersonate Garland in mode or manner, but presents her own cool, classy cabaret with pizzazz and passion, interweaving the songs, stories, humour and heartache of Judy’s life on and off stage. Yes, this is Entertainment with a capital E.” – Vivien Devlin, edinburghguide
“With a smile that lights up the room and a gorgeous singing voice, she (Kerry Hiles) had the audience in the palm of her hand throughout her impressive performance.” – Keith Millar, theatre reviewer.
“I found A Star Is Born – The Rise and Fall of Judy Garland fascinating and the singing superb…hostess Kerry Hiles…narrating an expertly abridged version of Garland’s life… It felt high class and approachable together.” – Andrew Girdwood, edinburgh-reviews.co.uk

No under 18s * Doors open at 18:00