Paul T Davies reviews Murder Ballads now playing at Greenside Theatres as part of the Edinburgh Fringe
Murder Ballads Greenside Theatres, Edinburgh Fringe.
14 August 2019
4 Stars
Here is an absolute treat for Nick Cave fans and those unfamiliar with his work alike, and, late night, it offers a very cool way to end your Fringe day! This is a stage adaptation of the album of the same name by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, told by the regulars of O’Malley’s Bar, Millhaven, West Texas in 1882. It reminded me of the Cohen Brothers’ Balled of Buster Scruggs; stories linked by music, and are equally dark in material- the clue is in the title!
The ensemble is terrific, especially vocally. Writer Gerry Smyth also performs, playing a wonderful comic creation, and Thomas Galashan and Tom Wilson are mighty fine in their roles, both welcoming and threatening when needing to be! But it’s Laura Connolly who is the most impressive in her roles, all clearly distinct, and all of them have a great connection with the audience. It’s very slickly and inventively directed by Ellie Hurt, and there is a huge amount of comedy that balances out the dark, especially when the material begins to feel a little misogynistic.
Perhaps because the show had to be edited for Edinburgh and the accents were a little strong, (but very good), I lost the plot in places. But one of the highlights is Where The Wild Roses Grow, later made famous by Cave and Kylie Minogue, here haunting and sinister and beautifully sung. If you are looking for something a little different this Fringe, this is a production for you, energetically performed by a talented quartet.
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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