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Fanny - a New Musichall
The Crescent Theatre
***** IN A new play, a world premiere, written
by Carolyn Scott Jeffs and directed by Ray Rackham, Fanny tells the real
story of music hall life in Victorian England. Complete with corsets, top hats and piano
accompaniment, the audience are whisked away to a world of 19th Century
entertainment and the Music Hall in a one woman show that tells the
story of an aspiring star who talks to the audience about her friends
and associates. Fanny is played by the phenomenal Lizzie Wofford
and the play opens with a musical number sung in a beautiful stylised
fashion, to set a welcoming tone, laced with innuendos and light-hearted
jokes. In true Music Hall style, the audience are invited to join in
with the bouncy and popular Victorian songs that fit in beautifully with
Wofford’s fiery performance. We were given a sheet to sing lyrics from the
likes of Hold Your Hand out Naughty Boy, All the Nice Girls Love a
Sailor, I do like to be Beside the Seaside and Waiting at the
Church. Wofford was so welcoming that we could not resist
joining in and singing along. She is a beautiful singer who performs
with gusto and passion to remarkable effect. An accompaniment of a piano
played by Peter John Dodsworth was a great addition. Dodsworth is also
the Musical Director for the show. An authentic Music Hall vibe is felt
all round and the audience are fascinated by the remarkable talent in
front of them. We are in perfectly safe hands in the co With layers of context beautifully encased with
an excellent performance from the lady herself, we are exposed to the
horrifying treatment of women. This is a slice of Victorian life as told
by modern research and feminist comment. The audience feel as if they
have been transported back into a real-life Music Hall performance.
Wofford’s confidence and self-assured performance
is truly inspiring. In her portrayal, she is clear in everything she
does which leads to a sharp reflection of Victorian life that educates
as well a entertains. The story is clever as it is topical, using Fanny
as the main narrator; she is an MC playing both herself and the roles
within her story. The evening starts as Fanny introduces herself and her
aspirations. The casual and warming conversation leads on to Fanny
informing us about her friend, Elsie. Wofford then takes on the role of Elsie, Fanny
and all other characters in between to tell the story of a woman fallen
from grace that was all too common at the time. Scott Jeffs’ writing is
deeply political and extremely challenging, informing the audience of
how far women have come in the very short time since the Victorian
period. The story employs a Brechtian style, with placards of a
description of each scene; the audience discover the deeply horrific and
violating culture going against the liberation of women of the 19th
century. The bouncy tone to the play definitely has its
dark moments, and these are used in exactly in the right place. What
seem like harmless flirtations at first are the things that become
Elsie’s demise. As the story unfolds, Elsie is forced to give up a baby
due to not being married, sent to a workhouse and becoming a prostitute. This is not even the worst of Elsie’s story.
Scott Jeffs does well to remind the audience of the commodity of the
women within the time, telling us that girls could be arrested for even
walking alone. The play finishes with Elsie entering a Lock Hospital, a
hospital for fallen women and the treatment of venereal disease. Two
placards about Elsie’s fate determined the powerful end to the
production. Rackham and Scott Jeffs have created a beautiful
account of women within the Victorian era, set against the backdrop of
the infamous Contagious Diseases Acts of the 1860s. Fanny shows a sharp
class divide with excellent precision. We are in the safest of hands
with Wofford’s stellar performance and characterisation. With a
beautiful collaboration with the London Theatre Workshop, the one-woman
show is a unique insight to the laws and acts of the time and lets the
audience appreciate how far social mobility has altered. Elizabeth Halpin 19-07-16
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mpany
of Wofford. She gives an outstanding portrayal of the multiple
characters of her Cockney story. Throughout the piece, she creates a
world of the darkest Victorian England and what it means to be a woman
in the era.