Australian hit Songs For Nobodies to have its European première at Wilton’s Music Hall in 2018
· A critically acclaimed one-woman tour de force running 21 March – 7 April
· Written by renowned award-winning playwright Joanna Murray-Smith and directed by Priscilla Queen of The Desert, the Musical’s Simon Phillips
· Starring the uniquely talented Australian singer and actor performer Bernadette Robinson
Wilton’s Music Hall will host the European première of Songs For Nobodies (running 21 March – 7 April), a brand new play with songs featuring music from five iconic divas; Judy Garland, Pasty Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas. Accompanied by live musicians, this funny and moving performance was written especially for Bernadette Robinson by Joanna Murray-Smith (Honour, Bombshells, The Female of the Species) and directed by Simon Phillips (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical).
This one-woman show is driven by the astonishing talents of singer and actress Bernadette Robinson, who takes audiences on a musical and emotional journey with five short stories following the word’s greatest divas and their extraordinary encounters with normal women – the “nobodies.”
Blurring the lines between superstardom and the everyday, Bernadette seamlessly brings each character to life as her remarkable control of tone, accent and vocal style perfectly inhabits each legendary singer. From the smoky blues of Holiday to the thrilling soprano of Callas via Garland, Cline and Piaf, Bernadette’s miraculous voice breathes new life into the five legendary performers and the five ordinary women whose lives were changed by their brush with fame.
Recounting intimate tale of their encounters is the heartbroken bathroom attendant who mends Garland’s hem the night she performed at Carnegie Hall, the backing singer who lives a dream with Cline the day she’s killed in a plane crash, the ambitious New York Times reporter assigned to interview Holiday, the Irish nanny who witnessed the fraying relationship between Callas and her shipping magnate and the English librarian who talks of how the ‘Little Sparrow’ rescued her father from a concentration camp during the war.
Director Simon Phillips commented: ‘Ever since I sat stunned at a Bernadette Robinson concert not believing my ears, I wanted to create a show for her, something that put her miraculous ability to reincarnate the great singing voices of the past into a rich theatrical context. So I knocked on the obvious door. Joanna Murray-Smith places the dramatic focus not on the stars themselves but the unknown women for whom these fragile singers were sources of strength.”
“Bernadette Robinson gives a virtuosic performance… Should not be missed” Sydney Morning Herald
“Beyond virtuosity to the sublime” The Australian
“A spellbinder” Barry Humphries
Listings Info
Dates: 21st March to 7th April
Times: 7:45pm, 6:30pm & 8:30pm Fridays, 3pm Saturday Matinee
Dates: £20 – £35 full price, £17.50 – £32.50 concessions