Penny Shaw is a Perth-based classical singer, known around town for her musical comedy (as one half of Divalicious) and opera singing (soon to appear in WA Opera’s ‘The Pirates of Penzance’) but she started out as a jazz singer.

This FRINGE WORLD show, Let’s Do It, is based around her journey from musically ambitious schoolgirl in rural England to professional singer and Australian resident. That musical journey started with her singing jazz standards and Penny treats us to a superb collection of jazz standards that were an essential part of any jazz singer’s repertoire in the 1980s. 

As you would expect, Penny has a lovely voice and she handles the challenges of jazz vocals with aplomb. She also has great presence seeming entirely at home on stage at the Ellington Jazz Club. But of course, this isn’t an acapella show, and Penny is wonderfully supported by a first-class band of jazz musicians who clearly enjoyed playing the songs: Jackson VanBallegooyen on piano providing perfect accompaniment and then relishing the opportunity to cut loose with his improvised solos, Karl Florisson on double bass also hitting all the right notes and getting the occasional chance to shine in an instrumental break, and Greg Brenton on drums setting the rhythms and with a smile befitting a man loving his work.

In parallel with her musical journey, illustrated with the jazz standards, Penny also recounted her ‘relationships’ journey with candour and wit. Penny’s delightful, unassuming storytelling rivals her singing skills and it is such fun hearing her contemporary interpretation of her late adolescent and early adulthood years. Maybe it was the way she told it, but ‘obsessed with boys’ might be a good summary.

Let’s Do It is a thoroughly enjoyable hour of cool jazz music and amusing anecdotes. Bravo Penny.