(GOD SAVE MY) NORTHERN SOUL

Park Theatre

★★

“Every emotion and incident in this piece is recognisable”

(God Save my) Northern Soul is a single hander, billed as a dark comedy about love, loss and Northern Soul music. The humour rests on an undercooked teenager who suddenly loses her Mum and has to confront the complex world of adulthood. This a very relatable play, with lovely key moments, but as a whole is, like the teenager, rather undercooked.

Natasha Cottriall has written and performs this piece. She has great potential. Her character, Nicole, is the narrator and the prime character, a 19-year-old who is unprepared for the consequences of maternal death. At moments Natasha/Nicole also has to ‘be’ the characters that she interacts with, most frequently, a prudish and opinionated grandma; a boozy but supportive friend; and the priest who will conduct the burial. Cottriall handles the transitions well, introduces echoes and repeats to hold the piece together and is a lively presence on the stage, even if her overall performance has some weak spots.

It is not explicitly stated that this is an autobiographical storyline but it could easily be. It is well written – the straight talk, the moments of inappropriate humour, the northern setting, the casual racism that Nicole encounters, her naivety and acute vulnerability. Every emotion and incident in this piece is recognisable and wrings the heartstrings of the audience, as well as laughs.

But, altogether it is a bit loose, meaning that the humour is undeveloped and resolution does not really come about. Director Hannah Tyrell-Pinder and her team have worked sympathetically with the material but the staging choices might have helped the play tighten up, instead of leaving some of it rambling. The Northern Soul music of the title is nicely used as a ‘character’ and also part of the sound design (Chris James) – but we didn’t really get enough of it to understand its significance. The ‘boxes’ set works hard (Alex Marker, designer), but some of it does not seem to add to the action. The close of the play fumbles and seems strangely ill-timed.

I felt I would like to see this piece re-worked. What it conveys is important for us to know: the abrupt transition that death brings about in any child, even older ones. We are never prepared. Parental death calls into recognition all sorts of other influences in our lives, often hidden until that moment. I also want to know ‘what happens next to Nicole?’. She has shown herself to be a real and loveable person who has just started on her journey. Maybe this is a trilogy in waiting.

Tag Archives: (GOD SAVE MY) NORTHERN SOUL

(GOD SAVE MY) NORTHERN SOUL

★★

Park Theatre

(GOD SAVE MY) NORTHERN SOUL

Park Theatre

★★

“Every emotion and incident in this piece is recognisable”