Sandy Pritchard-Gordon

Sandy Pritchard-Gordon
Theatre Blog

Sunday 16 July 2017

Lady Day At Emerson's Bar @ Grill

The hype surrounding Audra McDonald is totally justified if her first foray into London’s theatre land is anything to go by, because, to all intents and purposes, she is Billie Holiday.  Not only does she have a voice to die for and one that brings the late great singer back to life, but she perfects Holiday’s ability to perform whilst high on alcohol and or drugs.  Not an easy task.

Billie Holiday’s life was always a struggle, whilst death came early at the age of 44 due to heart and liver failure.  Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the daughter of teenage mother, Sadie and jazz musician, Clarence, who disappeared off the scene when Billie was very young.  Sadie often left her daughter in the care of abusive relatives and by the time she was 9 years old Billie was sent to a school for troubled African American girls.  Returned to her mother (who was then working in a Harlem brothel) a year later, Billie was sexually assaulted.  Not an auspicious beginning and she fared no better in later years when her first husband, James Monroe, introduced her to opium.  Bearing in mind that she was already heavily dependent on alcohol, the relationship floundered, resulting in her meeting trumpeter, Joe Guy.  He, in turn introduced her to heroin and the death of her mother soon after, ensured that her addictions escalated.

By the mid 1950’s, when this play is set, Billie, or Lady Day (the nickname bestowed on her in 1937) was reduced to singing in dives like Emerson’s Bar & Grill.  Following a stint in prison and arrest for narcotics possession, the singer had been refused a work permit to perform in any place that served alcoholic drinks, prohibiting her appearances in nightclubs and jazz clubs.  This particular performance in 1959 was to be one of her last, as she died a few months later.

Not surprisingly, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, is a painful reminder of the toll the singer’s addiction had on her body and mind.  Reminiscing on her life between songs, we get a glimpse of what she has had to endure and the sadness at what her life has become.  There is light heartedness, especially during the performance we saw, when her beloved Chihuahua, Pepi, having licked her face (seemingly on “cue”) suddenly yelps, having got its paw caught in Audra’s ring.  Not remotely amusing as far as the dog is concerned, but a little light relief from the sadness for the audience.

Don’t get me wrong, this production isn’t a dirge; far from it.  It’s an opportunity to watch an extraordinary talent up close and personal, whilst enjoying expert musicians plying their craft. Billie’s relationship with her pianist and musical director (Shelton Bacton) is a treat.  Always on the alert as to the state of mind and inebriation of his singer, Bacton tries to second-guess her every move and the rapport between them is an unforced treat.

The brilliant Christopher Oram has also done a wonderful job in transforming the front few rows of Wyndhams Theatre into a 1950’s American “dive” bar.  Circular tables and chairs replace front row seats, whilst the stage accommodates audience members seated at tables as well as the three musicians and Audra.  Seated at Table 4, we were treated to the singer approaching us for a cigarette.  One member of our party had the honour of lighting said ciggie, which I know added to his enjoyment of an evening watching the reincarnation of the troubled but superb Billie Holiday aka Audra MacDonald.

Sunday 9 July 2017

Girl From The North Country at The Old Vic





Conor McPherson is one of my favourite playwrights and he doesn’t disappoint with his first foray into the realms of musical theatre.  Girl From the North Country (a song off Bob Dylan’s 1963 album, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan) had it’s first preview last night and is an absolute joy.

As the playwright states in the programme “this new musical is not a greatest hits compilation or a classic West End blockbuster where the songs drive the plot.  It’s a conversation between the songs and the story” …. a big plus in my view.  Rather than having the cast sing to one another, they do so to the audience using old-fashioned stand microphones, and each of them plays a performer broadcasting the story, as well as the character within it.  The only instruments used are those that existed in the 1930’s and several of the cast members aid the musicians on stage with a spot of drumming.
Set in Dylan’s birthplace of Duluth Minnesota during the Depression of the early 1930’s, the action takes place in a guesthouse owned by Nick (Ciaran Hinds) and his wife Elizabeth (Shirley Henderson).  It is left to Nick to run the place, because Elizabeth has dementia, whilst their son, Gene (Sam Reid) is a drunk with delusions of being a writer.  Their adopted black daughter, Marianne (Sheila Atim) helps, but being pregnant and without a partner, Nick is desperate for her to have the stability of having a ring on her finger.  The guests themselves include a widow with whom Nick is involved, a couple with a son who has mental problems, a bible salesman and a black boxer.  Add to this broad mix of society, the local doctor (Ron Cook) who narrates the story, an eclectic mix of Dylan’s songs, sung to perfection, plus the brilliance of McPherson’s story telling and the result is a great evening’s entertainment.

It’s great to see McPherson’s frequent collaborators, Ciaran Hinds, Ron Cook, Jim Norton and Stanley Townsend on the Old Vic stage, whilst the newcomers are equally as good.  Those cast members who sing (the majority I might add) all bring something utterly new to Dylan’s songs.  It’s as if we’re hearing them for the first time and they all highlight the songwriter’s brilliance.  

It’s almost unfair to single out a cast member as they’re all so good.  Ciaran Hinds is his usual superb self, whilst Shirley Henderson, exquisitely captures the unique liberation that dementia can bring.  She has no “off” button and her antics lighten the mood to some of the sadder aspects of the story.  The singing of all is also exemplary.  Each performer has a totally unique voice (no standard musical theatre singers here) and when, as often happens, they are joined by some of the other cast, it all blends in so perfectly.  One particularly strong voice is that of the brilliant Arinze Kene (so, so good in the recent One Night In Miami at The Donmar) who plays the boxer.  And Sheila Atim’s voice sends the spine tingling.

How wise of Artistic Director, Matthew Warchus to insist that McPherson direct his own play.  He doesn’t hit a bum note, just like the musicians and singers and if the first night in front of a paying audience is this good, I can only urge people to go and buy a ticket for future ones.

Just for the record, the singer, Lulu, sat behind us last night and obviously enjoyed it as much as we did, for she quietly sang along to most of the numbers.