Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Starry night

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice <br /> Vaudeville Life is a Dream<br /> Donmar

issue 31 October 2009

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
Vaudeville

Life is a Dream
Donmar

Midnight in a northern slum. The pubs have closed and a boozy, blousy, past-it single mum is trying to seduce a handsome young talent scout. He deters her advances until he hears her teenage daughter, alone in her bedroom, singing jazz classics. The girl is an undiscovered star who can impersonate all the great 20th-century divas, Ella, Edith, Shirley, Dusty, Lulu. The talent scout decides to launch her career and prise her from the clutches of her bullying, drunken mother. Jim Cartwright’s 1992 play is an ingenious comic update of Cinderella. From the producer’s point of view it’s supremely difficult to revive. The title role requires a young actress with fab looks, strong acting skills and a vocal range sufficiently well developed for her to mimic great singers at the height of their powers.

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