Duluth, Minnesota, 1934. You’re transported to a fading guesthouse for lost souls in the depths of the Great Depression …where everyone has a secret and a sadness to bear.
The Olivier and Tony Award-winning West End and Broadway hit Girl from the North Country is on tour – and whether or not you’re a fan of Bob Dylan, you’ll be wowed by the exquisite, harmonic and soulful singing of a talented cast of actor and musicians merging in melodic harmony on stage.
The acclaimed stage musical is written and directed by playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir) with classic songs by Bob Dylan reimagined throughout – including Like a Rolling Stone, I Want You, Hurricane, Forever Young and lots more.
A dark, moody stage set mirrors the morose minds of the characters. At the centre is Nick Laine – the boarding house owner who’s about to lose everything because the bank is due to foreclose on him. Graham Kent steps in as understudy to excellently play him as a man constantly tipping on the edge of anger with life, his alcoholic son and with his wife Elizabeth who he’s lost to dementia – but who he can’t quite let go.
Elizabeth is played with an erratic and unpredictable edge (peppered with bursts of much needed humour!) by Frances McNamee. And when she sings? She brings the house down. Soulful, strong and wrenching out emotion with every note.
Gregor Milne plays the lost, haunted son Gene Laine with great sensitivity and his duet ‘I Want You’ with Eve Norris (Katherine Draper) was truly beautiful. Maria Omakinwa as Mrs Neilsen lit up the stage whenever she walked on. And when she sang? We reckon nobody in the theatre escaped a case of the goosebumps.
Justina Kehinde is just perfect as the vulnerable, yet stoic, Marianne, with a gorgeous voice that holds you captive. And every other member of the cast and ensemble shine throughout, too.
As well as the music, the clever choreography, the huddling around microphones, the shielding backdrops and lighting all add to the dark and shade of the story.
At times, the narrative doesn’t knit together and flow as seamlessly as you’d expect from a traditional stage musical, but then this musical is not meant to be traditional. Neither does it matter that the lyrics and songs don’t necessarily fit what’s actually happening to the characters on stage but instead portray emotion and feeling, like the backdrop to a film.
If you’re looking for a lift from reality, you may not get it from the storyline of Girl from the North Country as the hardship and hopelessness, the poverty and division of the story is sadly all too parallel with the state of society today. But the singing; the music; and the emotion – all won’t fail to help you find a release and an appreciation of a theatre-full of talent, whether you’re a Bob Dylan aficionado or not.
Girl from the North Country is on at the Wales Millennium Centre until 10 December then on tour. Tickets from wmc.org.uk
Photographs by Johan Persson