Reviewed by John Daly-Peoples
‘Songs for Nobodies’
By Joanna Murray-Smith
Figment Productions
Q Theatre
Until November 1
Jackie Clarke Performer
Penny Dodd Musician
Jennifer Ward-Lealand Director
Joanna Murray-Smith Writer
Callum Brodie Producer
Lachie Oliver-Kerby Sound Designer
Michael Goodwin Lighting Designer and operator
Rachel Marlow Set Designer
Reviewed by Jonh Daly-Peoples
‘Songs for Nobodies’, could be billed as the five female singers who provided the sonic background to the twentieth century. We meet Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas as their lives intersect with five “nobodies” whose lives are transformed by their encounters
The Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith comes with good credentials and Auckland audience will have seen her plays recently. There was “Switzerland” at ATC and “Three Little Words” at the PumpHouse and I have seen her brilliant play “Julia” in Brisbane which charts the political life of Julia Gillard
Jackie Clarke provides a sensational performance as the audience is taken on a musical journey with insights into the lives of some famous singers and their casual meetings with five “nobodies”. The songs which she sings include “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Crazy,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do.”
Highlights of the show are her Edith Piaf singing “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” and Maria Callas singing one of Tosa’s arias from the eponymous opera.
This isn’t just five singers belting out their well-known hits, there is a sense of the “nobodies” having their lives changed by encounters with the singers in imagined settings, the songs, the singers and the environments acting as a backdrop to their changed world and lives.
Through the course of the play she creates characters ranging from miserable lavatory attendant who encounters Judy Garland in a bathroom and fixes he hemline to a fashion reporter trying to get out of fashion reporting by doing a piece on an taciturn Billie Holiday
Director Jennifer Ward-Lealand has kept the staging simple, with the focus always on Jackie Clarke and her remarkable performance in creating the characters of the five distinctive “nobodies” and four singers (she doesn’t try to tackle Callas). She moves effortlessly between the characters giving them personalities and presence along with singing their signature songs.
Pianist Penny Dodd, the sole musician on stage accompanies Clarke with skilful musical direction and just the right amount of volume, never intruding on the singers and providing a sense of being in a nightclub.
‘Songs for Nobodies’ is a theatrical gem with one of New Zealand great voices taking us on an musical journey with emotional depth.
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