Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris
Theatreworld Internet Magazine, April 2005
Produced and Directed By Linda Edwards
Musical Direction by Simon Sharp
Cast: Marie Daly, Carys Gray, Kiara Jay, Stewart O'Reilly,
Joseph Wicks, Rupert Young
This production wisely steers clear of
embellishing the complex song structures originally written
by Jacques Brel, ( with English lyrics and additional material
by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman ) and instead concentrates
on a direct and simple dramatic delivery of a wide selection
of what I can only presume are Brel's "greatest hits".
Knowing nothing of Brel before I saw the
production, the title suggested that this is a production
seeking to illuminate Brel's relevance for a twenty-first
century audience. The show works as a free form cabaret
of musical numbers, and the opener "Marathon"
seemed to assert the piece's intentions by having its cast
perfom a lyric which provides a break-neck re-cap of twentieth
century history - summing up the nineteen twenties, thirties
and so on in a series amusing couplets. The song breaks
at a point where twenty-first century history begins, and
this would appear to be a raison d'etre enough for the musical
itself. Yet the suggested mirroring of our society by Brel's
songs isn't quite as clear as this confident beginning implies.
"Jacques Brel is Alive and Well"
is strong on atmosphere of fin de siecle anxiety and the
fall-out of hedonism which would seem to go hand in hand
with this, and so in a way, this in itself would be of relevance
to us. But the feeling of the show is cast firmly in the
territory of "Moulin Rouge". While a musical like
Cabaret animates an entire era by enveloping its characters
and songs in a dramatic narrative, there is no such linking
device in this piece.
This isn't to say that the production lacks
entertainment value. Director Linda Edwards deals as well
as the material allows her, to create chemistry between
her six performers, when they are often alone on-stage,
and performing lyrics which enact the introspective psychology
of a kaleidoscopic range of characters, of whom Brel's songs
provide us with brief, vivid snapshots.
Brel's melodies are arresting for the fact
alone that they capture the wayward flux of so many dramatic
scenarios. There is subtle, delicately cruel pathos in "Old
Folks" - where two younger women's uncharitable observations
on the older generation, are a paper thin mask for their
own anxieties about ageing. But it's a subtlety which can
just as easily shift into the fierce vitriol of "Next",
where the figure of a soldier - possibly from beyond the
grave - articulates a stark alternative to heroic images
of warfare. Edwards directs the cast so that these emotional
shifts are never intrusive, and so that both the isolation
and desolate humanity of each episode, with the warmth and
hope that accompany that, are both keenly felt by the audience.
The cast are an interestingly contrasting
mix of personalities, and they communicate each song with
technical skill and a naturalistic attention to detail,
so that the lyrics in the small Landor auditorium have an
almost conversational clarity.
While the passionately gallic commentary,
delivered by the unseen figure of Brel, is fragmented and
perhaps baffling for someone unacquainted wth his ideas,
it does mirror the work of a writer whose songs hover ambiguously
between heartfelt sentimentality and biting satire - such
as in the emotive "Timid Frieda" and "The
Desperate Ones". In his commentary Brel mentions a
"brightness darkening", and this is the impact
of the most successful moments in this show. Brel is expert
at casting a spell with a beguiling melody, and wrong-footing
an audience with a line which doesn't flow in a metrically
predictable way. The acting and musical direction allow
this quality to unfold with both effective restraint, and
powerful emphasis when appropriate.
He is also adept at bald statements of
emotion, such as in "Fanette" - a medition on
lost love, and the savage invective of "Middle Class",
as well as the bawdy wit of "Amsterdam". Personally,
I prefer the darker moments - particularly the bleak and
frenetic "Carousel", with its dizzying, escalating
music and words, matched by a precision in performance and
choreography.
The set is minimal, and alternates to suggest
the contrasting backdrops of modern London and turn of the
century Paris, though the juxtaposition was unnecessary,
and wasn't borne out by the performance.
This is an affecting production - by turns
witty and moving, and engaging for its detailed artistry
and variety, without being compelling in the way a strong
narrative would have been.
Reviews by Paul Williams for Theatreworld Internet Magazine
