MARIE AND ROSETTA

Rose Theatre

★★★★★

“soul-stirring, celebratory and foot-tappingly uplifting”

It is sometimes extraordinary how a figure can fade into the back pages of history. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a huge star in the 1930s and 40s, who struck a chord with a white electric guitar slung around her neck, that helped change the face of modern popular music. Yet somehow the gospel superstar ended up forgotten within her lifetime. George Brant’s impressive yet intimate portrayal will surely redress that injustice. Avoiding the epic, Brant focuses on a particular part of her life – her partnership with Gospel and R&B singer Marie Knight – and celebrates the legacy in a glorious play with music. It is a remarkable achievement in that, by pinpointing a moment in time, he still manages to give a concise and precise insight into the culture, history and background that shaped the characters. And then, of course, there is the music!

Set in a funeral parlour, a coffin laid out beneath a large wooden crucifix upstage, we are in Mississippi in 1946. “There’s rules” explains ‘Sister’ Rosetta (Beverley Knight) as she prepares her protégé and singing partner Marie Knight (Ntombizodwa Ndlovu) for their tour of the segregated Southern States (the unusual setting was the only venue that allowed the pair to rehearse). It starts out as a kind of audition for Marie, but her vocal style rapidly wins over the already established Rosetta. What ensues is the rehearsal which this show encompasses. The musical numbers slot beautifully and organically into the dialogue, sometimes stopping and starting again. The show is a conversation, a confession; a heart-to-heart that slickly builds up in momentum and passion. Like a musical ‘soul stew’ – a device coined by the late bandleader King Curtis in which a song will introduce one instrument at a time over a cycle of twelve bars until the full force bubbles into waves of musical bliss. Writer George Brant has followed a similar recipe, introducing rich details and pinches of backstory at crucial points into the dialogue. Knight and Ndlovu give faultless performances with their easy onstage rapport. When they launch into song, however, the production soars – whether the whole band accompanies, or if it is just the bluesy riffs of Liam Godwin’s piano or musical director Shirley Tetteh on guitar.

Rosetta Tharpe was renowned for her guitar playing. Decades ahead of her time she became known as the ‘Godmother of Rock and Roll’ whose influence touched countless stars including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Little Richard. Marie was a formidable piano player as well as a singer. Neither Knight nor Ndlovu play the instruments, but director Monique Touko gets around this with clever stage craft. Ndlovu doesn’t mime but uses her whole body to evoke the inbuilt rhythm and soul of a pianist, while Knight opens a guitar case to let the notes fly out into the air. Through the staging, we get a full sense of the real-life character’s influence as she changed the face of music back in the forties, leading gospel into the world of rhythm and blues and soul. Shunned by the straitlaced church for performing in nightclubs, she persuades the ingénue Marie to follow suit. Her mission was to “put a bit of club into the church, and some church into the club” as she swung between chapel in the morning and New York’s Cotton Club at night.

The writing avoids preaching. The natural dialogue touches on personal tragedy and adversity but is steeped in humour too. Rosetta’s chipping away at Marie’s saintly exterior offers moments of biting comedy as she shapes the latter’s high church voice into the smoky jazz vibe needed for their subversive success. The song list is plucked from Rosetta’s impressive repertoire, and the combination of Knight’s and Ndlovu’s voices is gold dust that rises to the rafters. ‘This Train’, the rocking ‘Rock Me’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘I Want a Tall Skinny Papa’, ‘Strange Things are Happening Everyday’ are highlights among highlights, the glory of which is shared by the two singers. There is no competition (as in the reality), but it is a union borne of generosity and joy – and this love of the music is all too clear in the harmonies.

The poignancy of the setting (designer Lily Arnold’s shrine like funeral parlour) is emphasised in the twilight moments of the show. We slip forward in time in an ingeniously surreal twist in the narrative that derails our cosy expectations and plunges us into a moving epilogue, the emotion matched by haunting a Capella vocals. “Marie and Rosetta” is soul-stirring, celebratory and foot-tappingly uplifting. When asked about her music and its influence, Rosetta Tharpe is reported to have replied “Oh, these kids and rock and roll – this is just sped up rhythm and blues. I’ve been doing that forever”. I’m sure this show will enjoy the same longevity.

MARIE AND ROSETTA

Rose Theatre

Reviewed on 9th May 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Marc Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

ANIMAL FARM | ★★★ | February 2025

NEVER LET ME GO | ★★★ | September 2024

SHOOTING HEDDA GABLER | ★★★★ | October 2023

MARIE AND ROSETTA

★★★

“There is much to admire, and the ideas are inspired”

The unnerving and overpowering effect of George Orwell’s novella, “Animal Farm” is how little has changed less than a century on from its publication in 1945. His biting political allegory was an unveiled attack on totalitarianism, more specifically Stalinism. We don’t need to look at history to wonder what Orwell would make of today’s leading political figures, nor do we need to rely on the Soviet-style, Communist regimes to appreciate the inspiration behind his writing. The popular graffiti slogan often seen on urban walls – ‘George Orwell was an optimist’ – is resonant today, and Ian Wooldridge’s current stage adaptation allies itself to that point of view.

Remaining faithful to the original it promises to pack a punch as we enter the grim, nightmare scenario. Metallic music throbs while surveillance cameras, perched on the vandalised, corrugated backdrop, watch us take our seats. Elements of sci-fi drift in as the harsh percussion gives way to hymnal, synthetic strings of a ‘brave-new-dawn’. A temporary reprieve, however, as those familiar with Orwell’s writing will know. Director Iqbal Khan’s production shares that sense of frustrated potential. There is much to admire, and the ideas are inspired. Ciarán Bagnall’s brutal set is more knacker’s yard than farm and the skeletal, lattice framed masks of the animals have a suitably dystopian quality. It is a shame though to spoil the effect with unnecessary gestures and playground animal noises.

Individual characterisation suffers, too, from an overreliance on provincial accents to distinguish the roles. Yet the performers are given plenty to get their teeth into and the commitment is unyielding, but it feels like they have been pushed too hard in one direction. Too many lines are shouted and even the quieter, reflective moments are over projected, as though the audience are either hard of hearing or primary school kids. Natalia Campbell’s ‘Old Major’ delivers a strong opening address that sets the scene, although the Queen Vic Cockney accent dampens the gravity. We expect a pub brawl rather than a revolution. ‘Napolean’, the chief pig whose tyranny replaces the tyranny that has been overthrown, is more precocious teenager than despot in Rhian Lynch’s hands. With Lewis Griffin’s streetwise ‘Squealer’ they rule the new regime with fake news, propaganda and an over-zealous trend of silencing dissidents. A chillingly familiar scenario. Soroosh Lavasani gives a more nuanced ‘Snowball’, the downtrodden rival to ‘Napoleon’, while Sam Black’s ‘Boxer’ – the silently-strong yet naively loyal work-horse – beckons our sympathy.

The nuances and the resonances are all in the writing. The execution, however, misses tricks and opportunities and a lot of the time we feel like we are being delivered a lecture. The setting, enhanced by Dylan Townley’s thrilling music and Gerry Marsden’s atmospheric sound design, promises the ‘fairy story’ that Orwell himself dubbed the novella. Quite why it should be considered a fairytale is open to debate, but a fable it definitely is. Khan’s production does indeed get all the points across, and we are given a stern warning about the recycling of history. Aesthetically it reproduces the story perfectly. The excessive exposition, however, obscures the general concept behind this production: a show that is plainly full of striking and thought-provoking ideas.

Tag Archives: Rose Theatre

MARIE AND ROSETTA

★★★★★

UK Tour

MARIE AND ROSETTA

Rose Theatre

★★★★★

“soul-stirring, celebratory and foot-tappingly uplifting”