Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Four stars
The Pains of confinement come in many forms in this contemporary chamber pop song cycle – gig theatre if you prefer - devised by director Liam Hurley and singer songwriter Jo Mango. Working with a group of songwriters, they draw from material developed during Distant Voices: Coming Home, a four year research project set up by criminal justice based arts organisation Vox Liminis and three university partners. The fourteen songs co-written with a host of unnamed participants channel the real life experiences of those within the system preparing to return home.
Cosiness abounds on designer Claire Halleran’s array of rugs, lamps and armchairs spread out on a stage filled with musical instruments. Here, Mango and fellow singer-songwriters Louis Abbot of Admiral Fallow, Kim Grant, aka Raveloe, Jill O’Sullivan of Sparrow and the Workshop, Bdy_Prts and more, Dave Hook, aka Solareye, plus bassist Joseph Rattray, bring empathy and warmth to a moving collective experience.
Each performer tells a story through song, with Abbott’s songwriter and workshop leader laying bare the creative process, while mediator Clem, played by Mango, ghost writes prisoners letters home inbetween dealing with her own trauma. At the show’s centre is D, brought to life by Solareye as he prepares to be released after serving his sentence. Waiting for him is his twin sister June, who, given voice by O’Sullivan, looks after D’s daughter, at times herself feeling trapped by circumstance. All this is framed by a fairy story told by Grant, about an incarcerated female giant with no heart.
With songwriting credits for others including Rachel Sermanni and C Duncan, as well as project researcher Phil Crockett Thomas, this makes for a slow burning and heartfelt construction. The most crucial input, however, comes from the Distant Voices Community.
The plan is for musical theatre auteurs KT Producing to develop A Giant on the Bridge further prior to an Edinburgh Festival Fringe run. As it stands, the understated beauty of the show already feels like coming home. A sense of freedom awaits.
The Herald, March 11 2024
ends
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