With everything that is going on in the world at the moment, where is the salvation? What can we indulge in to ease the burden of the lockdown, absence of our social lives and disruption to the norms? For me, after a week of attempting to help others where I can, in a role I have started from home and with other tasks of goodwill, I have been looking forward to indulging in the relaxation that musical theatre provides for me, even if it is on a small screen - watching a musical film or recorded show on the TV or a streamed show or concert online.
One of the offerings I have been looking forward to is The Barn’s third online concert, this time celebrating the music of Elliot Davis. After the last, around Finn Anderson’s compositions, I expected great things and that’s exactly what we were given. A stellar cast of West End performers, along with a pop band legend and a friend from across the pond, it is an honour and delight to sit back, relax and so easily enjoy the works of Davis, writer of 'Loserville', 'Out There', the book for 'Soho Cinders', 'Best Friends And Butterflies'; as well as the eagerly-anticipated forthcoming 'Becoming Nancy' on Broadway.
Davis started playing the piano at a young age and originally intended to become a lawyer. He worked at Warwick Arts Centre and, with dreams of becoming a composer, as well as stage-door-hopping to secure work as a rehearsal pianist, decided to write to the accountant of renown 'Oliver!' Composer, Lionel Bart after watching a show about him. Mr Bart responded by letter with his phone number asking Davis to call him if he was serious about pursuing the dream. He did so and they struck up a bond. Inspiringly he also wrote pop songs for bored leading actors between scenes and rehearsals and his career, split between pop and musical theatre, escalated. I first became aware of Davis when a friend of mine was in a production of 'Loserville'.
As ‘usual’, with the composer present throughout, Producer Jamie Chapman Dixon, welcomes us and introduces Davis, after a brief blurb about the theatre and the sad projected losses incurred due to the closure of theatre in the pandemic. This is all after a clock counts down to the start of the show, showing who's on the line-up (the one in the blurb seems to reflect who has the most accolades and been in the best shows by its order rather than the actual running order which appears on the start of the ‘credits’, which wasn’t very clear on my computer, but was on my phone) - unfortunately my Shazam app got confused and couldn’t pinpoint the source of the holding music used or the overture.
Kicking us off was Jamie Muscato ('Heathers', 'Spring Awakening') with a pop ballad called ‘Coldest of Men’ - which Davis co-wrote with poet and songwriter Stephen Clarke, who wrote the lyrics for 'Martin Guerre', 'Zorro' and 'Love Story' and with whom Davis had a strong partnership and great affinity. Excellently delivered, with such a wonderful voice, this made for a great start. Next, Lucie Jones (from 'The X-Factor', 'Eurovision', 'Waitress', 'Les Misérables') gave us a piece from 'Loserville' with ‘Long Run’ where, despite distracting from her performance value, the reading of the lyrics from her iPad didn’t affect her admirable vocals.
Co-creator of 'Loserville' and ''Out There', 'Busted' and 'Son Of Dork' singer James Bourne then gave us an acoustic version of ‘Learn To Dance’ from 'Out There', which told us that learning to dance is the key to finding love, as told by a grandfather. The fabulous Luke Bayer ('Everybody’s Talking About Jamie', 'Soho Cinders') was next with ‘Space’, also from 'Out There', which he performed some 10 years ago when he met Davis during a production at YMT. It is sung by the character of Logan Carter who we discover to be the grandson of astronaut Neil Armstrong, who doesn’t actually go to space in the show. Bayer delivered a brilliant performance. Original 'Loserville' leading man Aaron Sidwell ('EastEnders', 'Wicked') was next with ‘Hope Is Fading Fast’ from 'Out There', in which he presented the folk/country-esque song with hilarity and amusement, but perfectly.
We were then treated to a duet from Sam Lupton ('Avenue Q', 'Wicked') - who I know and interviewed when he was in 'Little Shop Of Horrors' - and 2020 musical theatre graduate Jordan McMahon ('Bard From The Barn'). McMahon appeared on screen to introduce the piece, which Davis declared was the result of a desire to write a simple song about emotion, something he finds hard to do. He certainly pulled it off with ‘How About Love’. Originally written during his time with Warner Brothers records, nobody actually recorded it so it was included in the show ‘Best Friends And Butterflies’ and, for me, is the punch-packing showstopper of this concert, beautifully delivered by these class performers.
Now, whilst some of the performers have appeared in both on-stage and in TV soaps, and even bigger things Jos Slovick ('1917', 'Spring Awakening') appeared in the Sam Mendes film '1917' and sang in it too. He now presents his version of ‘Gloria’, a song written at the request of Bill Kenwright and recorded by X-Factor star and Musical leading man Joe McElderry (of whom I am a huge fan). It was co-written by Graham Gouldman and Adam Bard. I suspected just from the title that this would be the same song and this is the one that I let loose and sang my heart out to tonight.
To finish off this tremendous concert, Olivier Award-nominee Aimie Atkinson ('Six', 'Pretty Woman') gave us ‘Lifetime Of Love’, co-written by Stephen Clarke - whom I think everyone watching and listening will have gleaned great respect for - before Aaron Lee Lambert ('Hamilton', 'Sunset Boulevard') ended with ‘The Village Song’, written for Andy Stokes from Hull (now in California) as the final song on his ‘Picking Up The Penny' album, available on Spotify. With Billy Joel and Elton John as influences, this is “a song about settling”.
Everyone involved with these concerts should be commended and I join the Barn and producer Jamie Dixon in thanking Elliot Davis and the performers, not just for their time but for their immense talents too.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 6/6/20
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