Piaf – Nottingham Playhouse

There´s much to enjoy in Pam Gems´s musical theatre biography of Edith Piaf. The singer’s life story is pretty well known and Gem leans quite heavily on the motherless childhood and youth in her grandmother´s brothel, her work as a street singer, an international career and many men. Of course, she was vulnerable and pitiful and her short life – 47 when she died in

1963 – was tragically bedevilled by alcohol, drugs and personality flaws.

Adam Penfold directs an ensemble of nine, which includes several accomplished actor musicians so that the music, with MD Gareth Valentine on stage at the side on piano, becomes a seamless part of the action. And there are, naturally, a lot of songs.

A show with a lot going for it then but there are problems. Laura Pitt-Pulford is a talented actor-musician and good in other roles here, but she does not cut the mustard as Marlene Dietrich. And sadly Jenna Russell – although her acting is at masterclass level especially at the end – hasn´t quite got Piaf´s gravelly, sexy, vocal pathos which so many people found so captivating.

There´s some sensitive work from Louis Grant as Theo Serapo, who fell in love with Piaf and looked after her lovingly at the end of her life. And SallyAnn Triplett is raucously, outrageously entertaining as Piaf´s old friend, Toine.

All Piaf´s famous songs were, obviously, sung in French when she preformed and recorded them. In this show there is a mixture of French songs with passages of English. And all the dialogue, some of which seems a bit forced and unnatural, is in English with Russell using earthy street speak. This feels a bit odd when she then sings in French.

Nonetheless it´s a strong story and a moving piece of musical theatre which is certainly worth seeing.