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Blues in the Night
Summary
This show centres around three women and embraces the traditional theme of blues music; love and all its encompassing hardships. The narrative is expressed through music; the powerful voices of the cast singing out their stories, each alike and yet unique.
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7th September - 29th September
The show centres around three women, played by Hope Augustus, Lynsey Britton and Hannah Levane; accompanying them is the egotistical lone male lead, Jo Servi. The show embraces the traditional theme of blues music; love and all its encompassing hardships. The narrative is expressed through music; the powerful voices of the cast singing out their stories, each alike and yet unique.
From the moment we entered the theatre, the soft, bluesy piano melody in the background gave the theatre a relaxed atmosphere. However, this soon changed, with Augustus’s feisty, domineering character belting out her first number in an electrifying start to what was to be a passionate, exciting show.
Hope Augustus plays the effervescent role of a woman living a life in the shadows of her former glory. However the strength of her character, and her wise demeanour, enables her to deliver this role with an enthusiasm which empowers the audience.
Hannah Levane takes the role of a young, beaten girl, looking for success amongst the more sordid streets of Chicago. Levane’s incredible voice powers through the theatre, complementing the strength of the band without flaw.
Lynsey Britton plays a once-rich wife, who now, through deception, has fallen to the same fate as the others, and has been left penniless, conceited and alone. This despair and resentment is conveyed through Britton’s remarkable voice as she throws her arms to the audience and captures the stage with her sharp, directed voice.
All the women experience states of anger and literally throw themselves into the drama, pounding the air in fluid yet forceful movements, which compel the audience.
Jo Servi plays the role of the Man in the Saloon, an infuriating character who slinks about the stage, mocking the women for their shame. Servi delivers this role with a deliberate arrogance, which bounces off of the women’s cold shoulders, as they force his taunts aside.
However, at the end of the performance the vindicated women realise they can no longer weep for their losses and break into an exhilarating blues number, which shakes the stage. The atmosphere and energy displayed upon the stage throughout the performance is staggering. The performances of the cast fell to a shattering applause that undoubtedly reflected the show’s sensational success.
Charlotte Seager and Nicole Gull
11th September 2007
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Last updated on: 08 September 2008 | Date of next review: 08 September 2009
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