Review: Tell Me On A Sunday

(Image courtesy of Elle Summers)

24th July 2021

By Elle Summers

‘Freedom Day’ has come and gone, and the long-awaited return of ‘normality’ is finally upon us. I’m sure there are plenty of fun filled activities that many of us are just itching to get out and enjoy, for those of you still dwelling in Canterbury The Marlowe Theatre is well and truly back up and running and ready to welcome you back with open arms!

This week, The Marlowe has the pleasure of hosting Jodie Prenger in ‘Tell Me on a Sunday’, a one-woman show composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, accompanied by lyrics from Don Black. This musical comprised of one act of 24 songs tells the story of an ordinary English girl trying to make her way in New York. The show follows her trials and tribulations as she falls in and out of a string of relationships, always resulting in heartbreak. The poetic lyrics and the accompanying soundtrack portray the worries of being alone in a new city away from the comfort of family, as explored through Prenger’s character writing to her mum in an honest and moving depiction of her life. The worries of finding love, coupled with obtaining a green card plague the main character for most of the performance as she struggles to find her place in America.

The choice of minimalist staging for this performance is highly interesting, with the lighting over the miniature replica of the New York skyline indicating a change in location and setting. This is accompanied with the use of sound effects relating to travel, from the announcement over the tannoy at the airport, to the bong of the seatbelt sign turning off. The backdrop hides the orchestra who sit out of view from the action, creating a small and intimate space for Prenger to relay her deepest feelings to the audience. The idea of the stage creating a safe space for these worries to be displayed highly shines through, coupled with the smaller audience sizes due to social distancing rules still applying to some extent.

This show depicts a very female oriented plotline, with Prenger’s character being the only one given the chance to speak her truth. Yet, the lyricist and composer of this performance are both male. Whilst this may raise initial caution in terms of how realistic this female voice may appear, having been sculpted in the male gaze, Lloyd-Webber and Black’s male standpoint does not overpower the meaning of the show. Prenger’s character is not portrayed as a failing female, nor is she a clingy mistress, whilst she may be considered a little naïve, the ending delivers the promise of finally finding herself in this foreign city.

(Image courtesy of Elle Summers)

Although the casting of Prenger could be criticised as the character is seemingly written for a much younger woman, Prenger’s singing talent makes up for this, with her voice filling the theatre, showing off her vocal range wonderfully. Yet, it may be considered that despite the moving lyrics so poetically put together by Black, Prenger’s emotional range does not seem to match the storyline. It is safe to say that I did not tingle with emotion as I watched her heartbreak unfold. Instead, I found it easier to connect with comedic elements of the performance, feeling a little empathy for the main character, but not sharing in her heartbreak.

Speaking to a male member of the audience, he commented on the performance as being monochromatic, critiquing a lack of emotional contrast portrayed by Prenger. Perhaps a reason for these opinions lie with how potentially the male audience could feel more disconnected to the storyline, one I’m sure many young women can relate to as they struggle to find their place in the world and adhere to societal pressures to settle down.

With this performance only being a short one, the second half consisted of audience participation, an idea close to a nightmare for me. As Prenger re-joined the stage singing Oom-Pah-Pha from Oliver! the audience were encouraged to join in, with the lights coming back on over the theatre, much to my dismay! The epitome of awkward happened when Prenger addressed the audience and was heckled with a joke she had just made, despite her seeming to not understand, making the whole experience a little jarring. Through a system involving texting in a question, we posed to her: what do you imagine when you perform each song? Do you create the characters to which you sing? Prenger responded ‘you have to really, but you, the audience help out here too as I find pinpoints to sing too, I’m sure a few of you saw me make a connection tonight! Although I do believe I spent most of the evening singing to William Shakespeare!’ With a solo and then duet number from Prenger and who I can only presume was Prenger’s understudy, the night came to a close. As the curtains came down the audience erupted into applause.

Showing in The Marlowe Theatre before continuing their tour ‘Tell Me On A Sunday’ is playing until Saturday 24th July. See The Marlowe (marlowetheatre.com) for the list of the of entertainment the theatre has to offer this summer! If catch this show in your hometown, or see any other performance at The Marlowe Theatre, please get in touch to let us know what you think through our socials and in the comments below.