Award-winning performer Shanay Holmes takes centre stage for her first-ever solo concert in a special one-night-only performance at Cadogan Hall on Saturday 11th July 2026. Accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and conducted by Chris Poon (Burlesque, Savoy Theatre & The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Chichester Festival Theatre), Shanay will present an evening of orchestral reimagining of musical theatre classics, alongside the songs that have shaped her journey to date.
Review by Stephen Gilchrist
Shanay Holmes, whose acclaimed interpretation of ‘Nany’ in Cameron Mackintosh’s current production of ‘Oliver!’ earned her the Black British Theatre Award for Best Female Lead in a Musical, has, I’m sure she won’t mind me saying, been round the musical theatre block a few times, but on this showing of her debut concert performance at Cadogan Hall has moved up a few notches from being a supremely talented musical artiste, to a potential star. I was privileged to see this transformation along with a house full of friends, family, fans and musical theatre lovers. There was much two -way love between the stage and the audience.
The stage was flooded in a blaze in red as conductor Chris Poon made his way to the podium to conduct the massed ranks of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. He lifted his baton and the opening notes ‘The Sound of Music’ prepared us for Ms Holmes’s entrance in a gorgeous ball gown, cut off the shoulder with a low décolletage, with more red silk wrinkles than is any good for anyone to wear.
Her slightly breathy mezzo soprano thus opened a set which, if nothing, was eclectic, triggered by her life experiences, her jobs in musical theatre and selections from her forthcoming album, which was plugged relentlessly throughout the show. I am certainly not complaining about that. and will be at the beginning of the rush to pre-order.
It has been a long haul for Holmes. She comes from a loving family, though one of modest means. I don’t know who was more excited. Holmes, for being on the prestigious stage of Cadogan Hall, or her audience for having the chance to listen to her for a whole evening.
The twenty five plus members of the RPO swung like good’uns, into a superb arrangement of Kander & Ebb’s ‘Maybe This Time’ which Holmes gave a powerhouse performance, following it with a delicate presentation of ‘”A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” the song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film Cinderella (1950).
She was now in her stride, talking more easily about her life, her gratitude to those who supported her, with an easy well-articulated charm. By the time she gave us Charles Chaplin’s ‘Smile’ (featured in the theatrical production Michael Jackson show, ‘Thriller Live’, in which she appeared) I was beginning to wonder why her voice struck a chord of familiarity within me. Then I realised that she had the voice and style of a Diana Ross – yes- that was it!
As she moved though one show song to another, I thought that this was one of the greatest debut concert performances I had ever seen. In Sondheim’s ‘Nothings Gonna Harm You’ (from Sweeney Todd) she fronted a terrific arrangement. Her Bob Marley from ‘Get Up, Stand Up!, was followed by a gorgeous ‘Alfie’ (by Bacharach and David from the show ‘Close to You’) accompanied by acoustic guitar. As Act 1 approached its end with ‘I Will Always Love You’ (from The Bodyguard) her voice soared beyond anything that could reasonably expected! Her microphone technique was first class, and she closed the Act with Bernstein/Sondheim’s ‘Somewhere’.
After the interval she appeared in a white elegant and sparkly thigh split evening dress and opened with ‘Don’t Say I Didn’t (Warn You)’ from Julia Mattison and Noel Carey’s Broadway musical, ‘Death Becomes Her’- a number unfamiliar to me but sung with intensity. Numbers followed from ‘Rent’, ‘Miss Saigon’, a tender ‘Where is Love’ from ‘Oliver!’ and a Streisand– matching ‘People’ (Styne/Merrill) from ‘Funny Girl’.
By the time she swung into an ace arrangement of ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ in a style and voice akin to a younger Shirley Bassy, she was clearly in her element and, having forgotten some earlier nervousness, was now firmly in her stride. Towards closing she gave us another Sondheim, ‘No One is Alone’, which is her just-released single providing a contemporary take on the meaningful lyric.
The audience rose for a well-deserved ovation to which she responded with (and I would have felt short changed otherwise) with her own iconic song ‘As Long As He Needs Me’, a song which she now owns as Georgia Browe did sixty-six years ago. Finally, in a second encore, she presented a mighty take on ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’, by which time the audience was on its feet again.
Under Chris Poon’s baton, Shanay Holmes delivered a five-star performance backed by outstanding arrangements in contemporary takes on beloved musical theatre songs, often and complyingly employing a melisma or vocal run (traversing the scale or series of notes on just one vowel sound). She looked good, and sounded good, in a superb and flawless concert debut.
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