The Southwark Playhouse hosts the London premiere of Kyle Falconer and Laura Wilde’s semi-biographical musical, exploring the struggles of becoming a first-time parent. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if personal family-themed piece actually deserves to be kept mum.
Parenting is the only lesson nobody can teach you, but you must always be prepared for. We usually talk about the joys of becoming a father (all of them, questinable, though…), but we still struggle to be as vocal about a reality that, much like anything we deal with, is destined to have its downs anyhow. The fear of being judged or the shame of not having everything under control before other people’s eyes continues to haunt us and, in many cases, only things make worse – just because we can’t accept the simple fact that, occasionally, is okay not to be okay.
This week, the Southwark Playhouse Elephant hosted the London transfer of No Love Songs, a new musical exploring the trials and tribulations of a straight couple having their first child. Featuring a repertoire by celebrated singer-songwriter Kyle Falconer, the piece is a tribute to the personal journey both Falconer and his wife, Laura Wilde, went through when starting that new chapter in their lives.
Relying on a two-handed cast accompanied by a keyboardist, its simple yet, somehow, imaginative staging blends its “everyday situation” narrative with the aesthetics of a rock concert – blurring the line between a down-to-earth recount and a musical fantasy, much in the way as other iconic predecessors like Cabaret or, to a more precise extent, Chicago. An enticing and, if properly executed, extremely effective idea, the montage (directed by Andrew Panton and Tashi Gore) doesn’t fully manage to combine both universes together with sufficient smoothness – too often, sacrificing the storytelling for the sake of a more gig-like delivery; thus, preventing us from completely immerse ourselves into a world that, at too many points, feels to distant from its audience.
In addition, the book (penned by Wilde and Johnny McKnight), fails to provide enough profundity, truthfulness and originality to bring enough interest to the dialogue (let alone, make it compelling) – presenting a few clichés in its lines that compromise its naturalness and flow on the whole. That problem, nonetheless, does not apply to Falconer’s superb catalogue of tunes – featuring incredibly moving, catchy, and at the same time, insightful tunes and lyrics, regaling us with so many moments of genuine melodic pleasure, his contribution is no doubt the strongest trait of the entire montage.
On the other hand, John McLarnon and Anna Russel-Martin give a most laudable performance in the title roles – with both exuding charm and electrifying chemistry all through their short yet emotionally draining rendition. Between the two, the highest praise goes to McLarnon, whom apart from his rather enchanting acting skills, boasts superb vocals as well as multi-instrumentalisr abilities.
A tale by anyone about everyone, No Love Songs sets a robust foundation as for the concept it attempts to carry out, but strives to make it work by not letting it grasp enough identity and innovativeness regarding the themes it wants to bring out. It’s a jaunt that so many have either been through or heard about. Thus, there must be a reason for us to turn our attention to their version in particular. It’s not that much about what you say, but how you say it. They’ve given their baby legs to walk. Now it’s time to give it wings to take off.
All pictures credit to Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
No Love Songs plays at London’s Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 15 June. Tickets are available on the following link.