Blues in the Night

Synopsis

A Chicago hotel in the thirties and three very different women are looking for a way to make it through the night. Under the cynical gaze of the only man in the joint - the singer with the bar room band - the women sing of their hope, anguish, longing and living before finally discovering the strength to survive. Blues in the Night is a colourful and passionate celebration of that survival spirit, drawing on some of the greatest Blues and Jazz songs ever written. Age guide 14+

Our Review:

23 December 2003

NOTE: The following review dates from December 2003 and this production's earlier run at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Four singers and a four-piece band rip their way through 30 numbers, strung like undies on a flimsy storyline. But hey! Who needs dramatic structure when the West Yorkshire Playhouse's Courtyard Theatre is bouncing to a high-energy musical?

'Musical' is the word. If you want jazz or blues, get to a club or dig out your albums: if you want a first-class approximation to the real thing - plus lights, costume and the excitement of four astoundingly good singers - get to the WYP and let the good times roll.

However, playing what is a crotchet from a concert on a traverse stage creates problems. Dramatically, the traverse is fine; but this show does not aspire to drama. The singers wear mics, and whilst they move, the sound doesn't. Ace sound engineer, the great Mic Poole, does his best - and the voices and music are perfectly balanc...

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