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| Bernadette Robinson in "Songs for Nobodies" |
Written by
Joanna Murray-Smith - Directed by Simon Phillips
Musical
Direction by Ian McDonald - musicians Ian McDonald, Graham Jesse, Ron Lemke
Lighting Designed
by Malcolm Rippeth - reproduced by Scott Rogers.
Set Design by Justin Nardella - Sound design by Nicholas Reich
Set Design by Justin Nardella - Sound design by Nicholas Reich
Sydney Opera
House until 9th February 2020.
Performance
on 23rd January reviewed by Bill Stephens
Bernadette
Robinson is a unique talent. She has the uncanny ability to reproduce, exactly,
the voices of famous singers. Plenty of other impressionists can do this, but
what separates Robinson is that she is also an accomplished actress, able to capture
the personality and soul of the person she is portraying, including their speech
patterns and language, so that her dialogue is as captivating as her songs.
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| Bernadette Robinson in "Songs for Nobodies" |
“Songs for
Nobodies” is a collection of five individual one-woman plays, specially
written for Robinson by Joanna Murray-Smith, to showcase the full range of
Robinson’s talents. Not only is each an absorbing vignette in its own right,
but each requires Robinson to captivate her audience with the sheer virtuosity
of her vocal and acting skills.
First
performed in 2010, directed by Simon Phillips, “Songs for Nobodies” toured
nationally, and was nominated for a Helpmann Award in 2010. In 2019 it was
nominated for an Olivier Award following a seven-week season at the Ambassador
Theatre in London, again directed by Phillips, as is this tour.
The work is
performed, without interval, on a deceptively simple, black, circular setting.
Malcolm Rippeth’s evocative lighting design continually surprises by revealing,
or concealing, features like Ian McDonald’s smooth accompanying band, the
cocktail cabinet, from which Robinsons occasionally pours herself a drink or
makes a pot of tea, or the Broadway lights which unexpectedly circle the stage
and proscenium to provide pizazz at appropriate moments.
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| Bernadette Robinson in "Songs for Nobodies" |
Costumed
throughout in an elegant black dress and jacket, hair tightly set, her mobile
features accentuated by a splash of bright red lipstick, Robinson, by changing
only her voice and mannerisms, miraculously transforms herself into ten completely different characters, to act
out a series of imaginary encounters. Each encounter includes the voice of the
famous singer at the centre of the story, sung with such stunning power and
accuracy as to create the sensation that that person is in the room.
For one
encounter, she’s a star-struck cleaner relating her powder-room encounter with
Judy Garland to whom she pours out the details of her own messy divorce. Then
she’s an ambitious fashion journalist who recalls an interview with an
unco-operative Billie Holliday. She becomes a Nottingham librarian recounting how
Edith Piaf helped liberate her Belgian father from a German prison camp, then a
young Kansas City usherette describing how she unexpectedly became a back-up
singer for Patsy Kline. Finally, she’s a jilted Irish lass who recalls her
experiences working on the luxury yacht of billionaire, Aristotle Onassis
culminating in a spine-chilling moment in which she becomes Maria Callas to
sing a haunting account of Puccini’s, “Vissi
d’Arte”.
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| Bernadette Robinson in "Songs for Nobodies" |
“Songs for
Nobodies” is a once-in-a-lifetime show. A masterpiece crafted with style and
finesse by Australian creatives at the peak of their skills to showcase the
talents of a truly unique and exceptional performer. Take this opportunity to
catch this show while you still can, before the rest of the world discovers Bernadette
Robinson.
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This review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au