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Sarah-Louise Young is an actress, writer, director, improviser and internationally renowned cabaret performer. Known for her acclaimed solo work, including An Evening Without Kate Bush and Julie Madly Deeply, Sarah-Louise has built a career around live performance, storytelling, music, comedy and audience connection.
Episode summary
In this episode of Variety, Sarah-Louise Young joins us to explore the world of cabaret, solo performance, improvisation and the realities of building a creative life. The conversation moves through her upbringing in Kent, early love of singing and theatre, years of making work at the Edinburgh Fringe, and the long process of finding her artistic voice.
Sarah-Louise also reflects on making shows from scratch, the importance of failure, the relationship between performer and audience, and why live performance still matters in an increasingly digital world. Along the way, the episode looks at creativity, resilience, rejection, class, arts funding, AI, fame, and the strange, beautiful power of being in a room with an audience.
In this episode
Sarah-Louise’s upbringing in Kent and early love of performing
Growing up with music, singing, choirs and homemade variety shows
Discovering theatre and cabaret through the Edinburgh Fringe
The influence of Victoria Wood, Fascinating Aïda and Stephen Sondheim
What cabaret means and why audience connection matters
Making Julie Madly Deeply and An Evening Without Kate Bush
Honouring iconic artists while creating something original
Improvisation, Showstopper! and learning to fail publicly
Why live performance does not need to be perfect
Rejection, reviews and being judged as a performer
Pantomime, vaudeville and the joy of theatrical tradition
The cost, privilege and pressure of the Edinburgh Fringe
Arts funding, access, education and valuing creativity
The work audiences do not see behind a performance
00:00 — Opening preview & introduction to Sarah-Louise Young
01:54 — Growing up in Kent and discovering performance
08:39 — Early variety shows and falling in love with the Edinburgh Fringe
10:10 — Inspirations: Victoria Wood, Fascinating Aïda and Sondheim
11:44 — What cabaret really means
15:42 — Julie Andrews, voice loss and Julie Madly Deeply
19:22 — Creating An Evening Without Kate Bush
23:09 — Showstopper!, improv and learning to fail publicly
26:54 — Rejection, reviews and life as a performer
33:25 — The Bob Ross Effect, creativity and mental health
39:24 — Edinburgh Fringe, privilege and the cost of making art
48:26 — AI, human creativity and why live performance still matters