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| Elenoa Rokobaro in "Send for Nellie" |
Written by
Alana Valentine - co-curated by Kween G
Co-produced
by Sue Donnelly and Stuart Davis
Directed by
Liesel Badorrek – Musical Direction by Zara Stanton.
Performed by
Elena Rokobaro and Eleanor Stankiewicz - Wharf 1 – January 10th-14th
Performance
on 11th January reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
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| Elenoa Rokobaro as Nellie Small in "Send for Nellie" |
Of West Indian heritage, Nellie Small forged a successful 40 - year career in night clubs and major theatres including the Tivoli circuit, around Australia and New Zealand. Black, and proudly gender non-conforming, Small was best known as a male impersonator, but she also worked in prestige clubs as a jazz and blues singer.
This writer
can recall seeing Small perform in Narrandera, sometime during the 1940’s. The
image of Small in the spotlight, immaculate in top-hat and tails, strutting the
stage as the headliner in Sorlie’s’ travelling tent show, remains vivid. Even
then coloured entertainers were a novelty but Nellie Small was a star and
newsworthy.
Nellie liked
to wear men’s clothes off-stage as well as on, and as a result, experienced
discrimination directed at both her colour and sexuality. However Nellie Small
was no shrinking violet, and stood up to her tormentors, and although her
exploits were legend at the time, until this show, she has been largely
forgotten.
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| Elenoa Rokobara as Nellie Small in "Send For Nellie" |
Perhaps it has
been the emergence of Elenoa Rokobaro, a power-house performer of Fijian
heritage, which has inspired Alana Valentine to rework “Small Mercies”, a work
she had written earlier about Nellie Small.
Rokobaro is lavishly equipped for the task, however, despite her best
efforts and those of many others, “Send for Nellie” does neither her nor Nellie
Small justice.
One of the
problems is that “Send for Nellie” tries to do too much. Besides expecting to
be entertained, the audience has come to learn about Nellie Small, whether or
not they knew anything about her previously.
Biographical
cabaret is a superb medium for providing this knowledge particularly when the performer
applies their talent, not to necessarily to impersonating, but rather to
capturing the essence and style of the artist they are eulogising.
“Send for
Nellie” did not take this route. The impression was that the director felt that
Nellie Small’s story was not entertaining enough and needed propping up with
support acts. As a result Rokobaro was frequently side-lined by Eleanor
Stankiewicz in a series of guises, and even the band.
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| Elenoa Rokobaro - Zara Stanton - Eleanor Stankiewicz - Camilla Bellstedt in "Send For Nellie |
Stankiewicz’s
contributions commenced at the top of the show as an aggressive red-nosed MC
exhorting the audience to “Hold up that drink for Nellie” before Nellie had
actually done anything. She joined Rokobaro in duets, an unfunny “I say, I say,
I say” routine, and a clownish strip routine.
Her most successful contribution was as Small’s manager, Edith Meggit,
but even Meggit was portrayed as an idiosyncratic figure of fun.
The show was
at its best when Rokobaro had the stage to herself supported by the excellent
band which consisted of Zara Stanton, (Keyboards), Camilla Bellstedt
(Saxophone/Clarinet) and Jodie Michael (Drums).
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| Elenoa Rokobaro as Nellie Small in "Send for Nellie" |
Rokobaro is
a charismatic singer and the repertoire of songs, presumably sung by Nellie
Small, included excellent arrangements
of “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “Sunnyside of the Street”, “Stormy Weather” , “I Want a
Little Sugar in My Bowl” and “At Last”, all of which she performed stylishly, utilising contemporary vocal stylings rather than those
of the singers of Small’s period.
According to
entertainer, Bobby Limb, Nellie Small used her hands beautifully when she sang,
likening her to Lana Cantrell and Shirley Bassey. Rokobaro used her hands
beautifully also, but in a modern musical theatre style.
She looked
great in her costumes, but neither the lighting design, which frequently left
her in darkness, nor the sound design, which at this performance was unbearably
loud, did her any favours.
Hopefully “Send for Nellie” will be reworked. It is a terrific idea, but in its present form, anyone hoping to be informed about Nellie Small will come away disappointed. Both Nellie Small and Elenoa Rokobaro deserve a better show.
Images by Wendell Teodoro
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
