C Aquila Temple
31 July – 25 August (not 13th)
19:00
‘Savoy! Everybody’s Doing It’, is a lovely procession of chirpy & humorous vignettes, each one of which will burst out into exciting jazz operetta. The show is a patchwork of the artform’s highlights, old & original, chief of which is ‘Ball at the Savoy’, a 1935 Austrian-Hungarian musical film, which would be chased out of Central Europe by the Nazis. Samuel Macdonald is the musical mastermind behind it all, & plays away on his keyboard at the side of the stage with great gusto. This event is live & thoroughly alive!
The rest of the troupe consists of three women & two men, who tell us the overarching story of marital decay in the modern age, to ascertain the real meaning of loyalty. Director & performer, Hungarian-born Julia Joy, describ’d the show as follows;
SAVOY! Everybody’s Doing It is a musical about love, (in)fidelity, and marriage. In my experience many people in our generation feel trapped or unhappy in the traditional marriage patterns we’ve inherited from previous generations. As we age, societal pressures and expectations weigh heavily on us. SAVOY! aims to spark thoughts and questions about finding a way out of this cycle.
The importance of operettas as a genre aimed to reflect on contemporary, relevant issues and to tell stories that were filled with cheeky, occasionally even forbidden romantic adventures. Despite the seriousness of the subject, we approach it with comedy, sarcasm, and absurdity – but we are unafraid to dive into the depth of it all at the right moments.
The five actors play out each scene in different combinations, sometimes solo, sometimes all five, but always varying & always dressed differently – there is some amazing costume work behind this show – glitteringly, shimmeringly, top class! I also loved the dance routines, which in places were highly dramatic – so let us add ‘physical theatre’ to the fabulous cultural casserole that Savoy! presents us.
Poppycock & balderdash & guacamole – honestly!
As the show proceeded, getting better & better all the time I thought, I became almost dizzy with the constant movings & maneuverings of cast, set & stage – it really was a crackling nexus-ball of energy, bristling with clever touches & sideshows. I especially enjoyed the tap dancing routine, & also the live typewriter percussion which accompanied Macdonald’s music.
Then cameth the moment which marks the reviewer out from their fellow humans each Fringe, the necessity of attaching stars to the general survey. I had to philosophize a wee while – operetta isn’t for everyone, it’s kinda niche… I don’t mind it myself, but I don’t adore it. Yet… what I beheld was objectively stunning; flawless performances of the script, every singing note struck & struck sweetly, dance choreography to rival any famous boy/girl-band (there were five of them), & just the electric & tangible love of their show which our troupe were conveying.
My instincts were solidified at the very end, when I overheard two fellow audience members laud the show with, “that was fantastic, that was amazing…” then to one of the troupe the gush’d, “we are working the the Tattoo, there’s loads of us, we are gonna bring them all down.” So, my instincts were right after all – this really wassuperb jazz operetta!
Damo
themumble.uk 