Kate Leigh. The Worst Woman In Sydney.
Written and performed by Libby O’ Donovan. The Space Theatre. Adelaide Festival Centre. June 15 and 17 2018.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Libby O'Donovan plays Kate Leigh- The Worst Woman in Sydney. Photo: Claudio Rascella |
Rule Number One: No fighting. 2. No
complaining. 3.No deferred payment. 4. Respectful behavior at all times. 5. Discretion
required. 6. Mum is Boss. Every visitor was bound by the rules of Underworld
matriarch Kate Leigh’s sly groggery in Surrey Hills. The iridescent Libby
O’Donovan, a vision of Music Hall blonde haired boldness and style moves
between the cabaret tables to her original Blues song, All men need Mum. MUM is the code name for Kate Leigh’s sly
groggery that provided booze for all after the six o’clock closing time was
enforced.
Grog is not all that the amazing
Kate Leigh offered. Thrown into the
infamous Paramatta Institute for Girls at the age of sixteen for wandering the
streets of her home town Dubbo without apparent purpose , Kate rose from a life
of abject poverty to become the
celebrity queen of Sydney’s underworld, dealing in sly grog, prostitution, gang
warfare, and cocaine, amassing a fortune along the way and leaving the business
to daughter Eileen to run while she was in and out of prison.
In a show of just over an hour, cabaret
Diva O’Donovan takes the audience on an intriguing journey through the life of
a woman, who battled the odds and survived through her own wile and
willfulness. Through her songs, from
brassy Blues to jivey Jazz and lilting, affectionate Lullaby, O’Donovan matches
the many shades of Leigh’s rise and fall with her own beguiling vocal range that
tells a story that is both as engrossing as it is thought provoking. Backed by
her stunning trio of musicians, dressed in the outfits of the time and against
a backdrop of black and white projections of old framed photos of Leigh, her
criminal husbands, the stern Women’s Temperance Unionist and arch rival Tilly
Devine, O’Donovan intersperses narrative with song in a show that is musical
documentary, traversing the years with historical fact and the power of her
heartfelt song.
O’Donovan’s fascination for Leigh
is contagious, her songs beguiling in their honesty and captivating in their
flexible range. Kate Leigh – The Worst Woman In Sydney, however intriguing in the
hands of a consummate cabaret artist, is still in need of balance. There is a
tendency to become so engaged by the life of her heroine that the songs become
subservient to the story. The script could do with tightening so that the songs
regain prominence and diversity, as they explore different events, emotions and
opinion.
That aside, O’Donovan has struck
gold with her combination of criminal history and musical style. It struck me
as a concept piece that could be developed into a fabulous full lengthmusical
with the introduction of characters in the sly groggery, the nefarious
husbands, the law and Eileen. There is a wonderful moment, when Becky Cole
enters the stage as razor gang rival Tilly Devine and the two go slash and
swipe in a full throated duet.
Like O’Donovan, we cannot help
but feel admiration for Kate Leigh. Hearts are softened by the knowledge of her
generosity towards the unfortunate and her community spirit such the annual
Christmas Celebration. O’Donovan presents a powerful feminist view, and
admiration for the women who struggled to survive in a male dominated society.
Leigh, whatever her criminal misdemeanours, emerges as a feminist icon and a
role model, though perhaps along a different path that would not eventually
lead to gaol and bankruptcy. There may be no excuse for the crime, but
O’Donovan’s fascinating, vital and thought-provoking performance leaves no
doubt that there are grounds to consider unjust cause. This is a terrific work
and I hope that we get to see more of it, either on tour or as a full length
musical tribute to the women who struggle to survive.
