Review - Rise and Fall of Little Voice at Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright was a play written for the talented Jane Horrocks in the early 1990s.
It accumulated a huge number of theatre awards and has subsequently been a popular title for regional theatres across the UK and is this year a welcome addition to Pitlochry’s repertoire.
Set in a northern English town in a typical run down two-up-two-down property, the shy LV (Little Voice) spends most of her time in her bedroom surrounded by and listening to records that belonged to her late father not just listening but singing along and imitating the stars such as Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland and Edith Piaf. Downstairs is her mother, Mari’s territory. When she brings home her latest beau, Ray, a seedy talent scout for local clubs, he believes he’s found a future star in the making.
Ray gets LV a chance to sing in a club, but overcome by stage fright and bright lights, LV flees back to the safety of her bedroom and refuses to sing in public again.
Unknown to her mum, the shy LV has struck up a friendship with a young BT engineer, Billy.
Their tentative wooing, conducted via his cherrypicker, touchingly shows two solitary dreamers coming together.
Deidre Davis gives an energetic if not athletic performance as the manhungry Mari, out of control and desperate, tottering around in her high heels with complete disdain for her daughter. All she wants is a ring on her finger and believes all her dreams have come to fruition when LV makes her debut at the club.
Carl Patrick is the seedy agent, Ray Say, all over Mari to start with, then on hearing LV sing immediately thinks of how he can profit from such talent - almost an extension of the character, Billy Finn, the devious lawyer he plays in ‘Chicago’, another of the PFT repertoire of productions this summer.
Laura Costello, making her professional stage debut, is LV.
Gently portraying the shy reclusive daughter living and singing quietly with her father’s records, but given the opportunity at the end, Laura has the audience in the palm of her hand with her vocal talents.
Other parts are played by Alan Steele, (the club owner), Isaac Stanmore (Billy) and Irene-Myrtle Forrester (Sadie).
The production is directed by Gemma Fairlie and set designs by Becky Minto.
Details of the performances of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice can be found at www. PitlochryFestivalTheatre.com
MIKE BOXER