By Ben Nielsen
It doesn’t take long to realise why Choir Girl was a sellout at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Sarah Collins’ raucously funny show follows the story of an over-bearing choral singer who experiences a constant cycle of rejection. Collins wrote the show and also stars as the main character Susan, but it’s far from self indulgent as she certainly excels in both roles. The script is thoroughly entertaining and hilariously witty, although, the exclusivity and fast pace of the humour may bamboozle some audience members.
Collins’ portrayal of Susan is both irritating and loveable. An impressive repertoire of facial expressions and vocal tones exposes Susan’s desperation to assimilate with the other choir members, and her desire to attract the attention of the male accompanist.
Neither a Broadway musical nor cabaret, Choir Girl is simply theatre with cleverly incorporated music. As well as providing sound effects and subtle choreography, the small choir also configure themselves into human props. The choir also proved itself to be a real powerhouse of musicality. Most impressive were the long interludes of silence after which the girls would break into song, without so much as an intonation or pitch issue.
Blocking was slick, and scene changes were assisted by an effective lighting design. However, there were a number of major technical issues- surely just ‘opening night blues’.
While front of house operations were below average, The Tuxedo Cat is a fantastic venue, admirably reclaimed from disuse and deterioration. Of the building’s six venues, Choir Girl played in the small upstairs ‘Green Room’.
It is unfortunate that the Adelaide Fringe Festival is now so large that even the best productions are forced to perform in little more than storage cupboards. Unairconditioned and with no ventilation, it was difficult to fully immerse oneself in the brilliant production.
With audience members fanning themselves and the cast simply dripping with sweat, it was not long before the performance was halted due to the collapse of an audience member. No doubt this was a consequence of the venue operator’s lack of responsibility and inadequate facilities.
The actors and production crew acted swiftly and with grace, and the audience were eventually delivered the remainder of this fine production.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
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