| Is it a play? Is it a cabaret? Is it a concert? Is it a musical documentary? |
At the Other Room |
| Sinners' Club , Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold. , March 26, 2017 |
Is it a play? Is it a cabaret? Is it a concert? Is it a musical documentary? Well, it's a little bit of all those things but what it really is is a unique event with an atmosphere all its own.In the 1950s Ruth Ellis set off from Rhyl in search of glamour and romance and ended up being the last woman to be hanged for murder in Britain. Lucy Rivers has written what is also in essence a song cycle that tells the story while being recorded in a night club. This is a setting which fully brings to life the louche Soho scene of 1950s London with its Jekyll and Hyde, night-time glamour daytime seediness which was the world Ruth Ellis got caught up in. And that the audience gets caught up in too. As well as the normal theatre seats there are tables and chairs around three sides of the performing area and if you sit there you could well find yourself asked to pull off a boot, or hold a dress, or become a boyfriend or play a note on a triangle. Lucy Rivers never tries to be Ruth Ellis yet she personifies the character through the songs. She has a powerful and varied voice and the impact of her performance is very strong. The remainder of The Bad Mothers comprise Guitar (Dan Messore), Bass (Aidan Thorne) and Drums (Tom Cottle) and their playing, which wholly surrounds those of us at the tables, is seriously good. As I said I'm not sure what exactly is the nature of the beast but it is rawly theatrical and it does very well in bringing the shade of Ruth Ellis back from the dead. |
Reviewed by: Victor Hallett |
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