The
Arches, Glasgow
4
stars
AS
the Spice Girls head to the West End with their jukebox musical,
director Cora Bissett unveils a lo-fi compendium of after-hours
confections which I would be prepared to bet reveals an altogether
more fascinating and challenging understanding of contemporary
musical theatre. By bringing together some of this country’s
hippest avant-pop songwriters with a set of actors and writers fully
at ease with mixing up artforms as well as moods for this Vital Spark
commission, Bissett has taken the musical back to its fringe roots in
a glorious mix of domestic sentimentalism and old school grit. All
with the odd slice of fantastical ridiculousness thrown in for good
measure.
It
opens with a couple on a cosy sofa recalling the first time they met,
which could have been last night or a lifetime ago. From first love
to last rites, this launches us on an emotional travelogue that takes
us from club-land largesse, wasted youth, missed buses and the
company of strangers, to online dating, sleepless nights and the
confessions of an East European Eliza Doolittle.
With
filmed back-drops, aerial pas de deux and lovely central performances
from Frances Thorburn and John Kielty dove-tailing messily across
four stages, such a dramatic patchwork sometimes resembles a late
1990s ensemble rom-com. Written contributions from ten writers
including David Greig, Annie Griffin and Kieran Hurley complement
generation-hopping new songs played mainly live by a large house-band
that includes Ricky Ross, Emma Pollock and Dan Willson (aka Withered
Hand). There’s real heart to this poignant and touchingly funny
series of musical snapshots of how we live now.
The
Herald, June 29th 2012
ends
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