Assembly
Roxy, Edinburgh
Three
stars
Life is
a cabaret of a largely unglamorous kind for Frances Edwards, the small town
girl with stars in her eyes in Rachel Flynn’s new play. As she puts on top hat
and a smile to shimmy her way through her Liza Minnelli tribute act around
Scotland’s civic hall circuit, Frances is accompanied
on piano by her overbearing dad Pete, who has been pushing his daughter to succeed
ever since her mother ditched them. Enter stage left accountant and would-be
crooner Tony, who provides a distraction for Frances, while she quietly makes
plans to see the world on her own terms.
With
Flynn herself playing Frances in Ryan Alexander Dewar’s production for the new
Interabang company at the latest Formation festival of grassroots theatre, this
is a double-edged sword of a show. As with the likes of The Rise and Fall of
Little Voice, it lays bare the domestic and back-stage nitty-gritty while also
showcasing its leading lady’s own talents as a showbiz diva.
This is
something Flynn takes full advantage of over the play’s hour-long length, one
minute sparring with Pete as any father and daughter might, the next belting
out sparkly Liza Minnelli classics with chutzpah and pizazz. Both James Keenan
as Pete and Benjamin Story as Tony act as perfect foils for Frances,
high-kicking her way through things even as she learns to stand on her own two
feet.
While
things might easily be fleshed out in terms of colouring in what became of
Frances’ mother, as it stands it has a well-rooted understanding of Hollywood
style fables absorbed from Sunday afternoon matinees. Having already played
Dorothy in Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Christmas production of The Wizard of
Oz last year, Flynn is clearly steeped in the mythology of Minnelli and her
mother Judy Garland. This debut play takes her fascination and fandom to the
next level in a smart and sensitive study of a young woman on the cusp which
may yet go on to greater glory.
The Herald, July 1st 2019
ends
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