I headed to the Toulouse Lautrec Restaurant & Jazz Club in Elephant & Castle to see Desirée Skylark’s one-woman musical cabaret Applause Optional. This is an autobiographical performance with Desirée taking the audience on her journey from early childhood dreams of becoming a performer through her formative years and on to today, having her own show in London.
Along the way, as she narrates her life story, Desirée drops in songs that add to or enhance that phase of her life. Some, such as the opening number, Avenue Q’s “What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?” are personalised for her story while others are sung with standard lyrics. But all have been chosen for their appropriateness to the part of the story being told, and it’s obvious a lot of work has gone into finding the right song for each point. And it works well. Desirée’s life is quite fascinating. From her early years being homeschooled and subsequently not having many interactions or friendships outside the family, through to her first steps into the real world, overcoming not only fear but, at the time, undiagnosed autism and onwards to drama school, first love, and the horrors of Covid – for which she takes full responsibility – and her subsequent hospitalisation, Desirée has not had it easy. But somehow, she manages to overcome hurdles that would have beaten a lesser man – and I count myself in that number – and emerge as a seemingly confident performer able to hold an audience in her hands. Desirée has a great singing voice with a nice vocal range, so none of the songs she performs ever feel like they are over-stretching her, unlike those of her 4-year-old self, which are not great. Top that off with a lovely warm and engaging personality, and you have an hour of first-class entertainment.
A slight niggle was that the piano, expertly played by musical director Dean Austin, seemed on occasion to be too loud and fight for attention with Desirée’s vocals. I also would have liked even more of Desirée’s life story just to fill in gaps for me. I especially wanted to know more about the obsession with vintage fairground attractions, coin-operated children’s rides, and amusement park history. In fact, I’ve spent a bit of today having a look around some of her work in this field. Quite fascinating. And I think that sums up Applause Optional.
A fascinating tale of an excellent performer who doesn’t get beaten easily. At the end, my thought was that the title here was wrong. The show should have been called Applause Well Deserved.
Review by Terry Eastham
Applause Optional is the story of an actress and singer who spent her life seeking validation from those around her, before realising that the only love she truly needed was her own. This is a show about healing your inner child, letting go of perfection, and learning to stand in your own spotlight. An hour of comic moments, heartfelt stories and, of course, lots of showtunes!
APPLAUSE OPTIONAL
Toulouse Lautrec
27 July 2026
