Blackheath Halls
Sarah – Rebekah Smith
Pitty – Lucy BrayWinnie – Kate Huntley
Nance – Susanna Buckle
Charlotte – Rebecca Leggett
Madge – Emily Gray
Captain – Laurence Panter
Surgeon – Caspar Lloyd James
Sarge – Tom McKenna
Tommy – Lars Fischer
Elaine Kidd (director)
Louise Whitemore (designs)Ben Ormerod (lighting)
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| Images: Lidia Crisafulli |
Much of the best opera in
London takes place at our conservatoires. Their end-of-term shows often put
starrier venues to shame, whether in ‘standard’ or more unusual repertoire. Trinity
Laban has here, quite rightly, offered students the opportunity to participate
in an entirely new work. I was unable to attend the world premiere, but instead
went to the second night, and found committed, convincing performances from all
concerned – just as I always do.
Stephen McNeff’s Banished, an adaptation of Steve Gooch’s
play, Female Transport, to a libretto
by Olivia Fuchs, tells the story of women who, in the words of Trinity Laban’s
Linda Hirst, ‘are all individuals with strong and earthy characters,’ during
their transportation to Australia. ‘They live on the ship (together with the four
men: Captain, Sarge, Surgeon and Tommy) for months, through the ups and downs
of the sea. They don’t all die as in other operas for women, and they retain a
basic sexuality and a sharp sense of humour.’ If some of those claims are somewhat
exaggerated, the opportunity, in McNeff’s own words, to take part in an opera
with ‘challenging roles available for young women (indeed for all young women)’
is a real one and heartily to be commended. It is certainly not the case that
the male characters get a raw deal, but the story is ultimately that of the
women we encounter, and rightly so.
The opera does its job, even
if, especially without surtitles, it is not always possible to hear the vocal
lines – and thus properly to disentangle the stories. Perhaps there are too
many stories being told, but if so, that is a fault on the right side, and the
variety of experience is clearly part of the point. What I missed in the work
itself was a sense of distancing or of questioning; dramaturgically, it comes across
as not so very different from a telescoped version of a somewhat old-fashioned
television series, or a musical. But perhaps that is my problem. On the other
hand, some of the characters are strongly drawn – certainly not something to be
taken for granted. The romantic relationship between the ship’s newest recruit,
Tommy, and Sarah is plausible in its development, without overshadowing the
other stories, and without sentimentalising. Tensions between crew and
captives, and within those groups, are skilfully explored. McNeff’s score
offers a good sense of atmosphere, with stronger and weaker allusions to the
period of transportation, whilst remaining itself. The organisation into fifteen
short scenes works well, and different scenes often tend towards display of
their own musical characters. Crucially, for a project such as this, vocal
parts are both singable and challenging.
It is the performances,
splendidly directed by Elaine Kidd (costumes, make-up, and lighting deserve particular mention here) and conducted by Jessica Cottis, which
deserve our loudest cheer. Whether amongst the ‘soloists’ or the twelve-strong
additional female vocal ensemble, there was nothing to which anyone might
reasonably object, and much to praise. (I was delighted to see a couple of my
former students from Royal Holloway, Charlotte Levesley and Charlotte Osborn,
in the ensemble, and sad to have missed out on another, Hilary Cronin, who was
to sing the role of Nance in a later performance. Performances that
particularly struck me came from Rebekah Smith and Lars Fischer (as the
aforementioned pair), Rebecca Leggett, and Lucy Bray, but there were no weak
links, and a fine sense of company amongst all. Similarly, the orchestra seemed
to me on excellent form, rhythmically alert, with a fine sense not only of
balance but forward propulsion imparted by Cottis.
