Maaike Brejman performing as Dreaming Of Kate at the Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The elusiveness of Kate Bush, arguably one of the great female recording acts that Britain has produced in the last 50 years, as a stage performer is always keenly felt by those whose love of her special concoction of dance and magical lyrics. The decades that have passed, the sense of falling in love to someone whose music has defined much of how the public certain segments of time, all missed, all grieved over and whilst quite rightly Ms. Bush is lauded for her music, the sense of loss is always there.

In Maaike Brejman, the dream, the fantasy of missed stage opportunities are fulfilled, are taken to the heights that can be interpreted as being nothing short of a delight and as she has rocked the joint and the hearts of the Epstein Theatre’s audiences before so she managed to do once again as the closing of 2015 rapidly approaches and the sound of ‘wow’ passed the lips of many of joyful crowd member.

Dreaming of Kate is made reality, the movement of the performer, the sincerity of the vocal and the collected calm of the band all make the songs that many have never heard perform live seem eerily fantastical, almost spectral in their delivery, such is the power of Maaike Brejman’s imagination, of her style, that songs such as Wow, Strange Phenomena, the rampant delight and flirtatious appeal of Babushka, This Woman’s Work, the elegant The Man With The Child In His Eyes, Lily, Cloudbusting, Running Up That Hill, Rubberband Girl and the haunting, unforgettable vision of Ms. Bush’s lyrical reading of Wuthering Heights all maintained their somewhat mythical live status and were added to with the consummate display of affection by Ms. Brejman.

Any fan of Kate Bush, any fan of the Progressive movement, the lyrical ability to tell a story in song would benefit from seeing Ms. Brejman’s take on a national icon’s work, something after all should never be allowed to fall into the hands of Time’s rusty hands. An evening of great respect shown, of beautiful passion and movement, Dreaming of Kate is a flight of fantasy fulfilled.

Ian D. Hall