A fabulous show, a
nostalgic journey down a road of happy memories. (Review by Keith Millar)
Erin Fourie and
Daniel Rossouw, along with Peter Mitchell form the Hexagon Theatre in
Pietermaritzburg who devised and directed the show, took a different route in
compiling the music for their Beatles tribute show, While My Guitar, which was seen at the Hilton Arts Festival this
year.
Instead of just
presenting a compilation of “The Best of the Beatles” they, have delved a
little deeper and have created a show which features some of the lesser-known
Beatle music, along with a few of the biggies. They have also looked at factors
which influenced the Beatles music while making their selection.
I am not convinced
by the description of “lesser known” when applied to Beatles music and in fact
most the songs performed are classics in their own right, and were instantly
recognisable.
Fourie and Rossouw,
accompanied by their guitars, put their own interpretation to the music but
never strayed too far from the original. As a result, the show had a fresh and
current feel while remaining quintessentially Beatles.
Erin Fourie, who
some time ago was a finalist in that TV horror show, Idols, has a gorgeous voice. It is powerful, with beautiful tone,
character and range. She certainly did great justice to the songs she
performed. It’s a wonder that we have not seen her in any of Durban’s many
tribute shows as she certainly has the versatility of voice to do well in any
of them.
Unfortunately, it
is not the same for Daniel Rossouw, He has a nice voice with a pleasant timbre,
but he struggled with pitch on several occasions. However, he made up for this
with a dazzling display on his acoustic guitar.
Fourie and Rossouw
also provide interesting snippets of information about the Beatles while
engaging in friendly banter with each other. This was at times a little stilted
and uncertain. It seems as if this is a new show and they are not quite used to
their interplay yet. However, both have the charm and easy smiles to get this
right and make it a fun part of their presentation.
Songs that were
heard during 75-minute show included
While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Love Me Do, Golden Slumbers, And I Love Her, Here
Comes the Sun, Girl, Honey Pie, Norwegian Wood, A Day In the Life, The Fool On
the Hill, Eleanor Rigby, Baby Its You, Mr Moonlight, We Can Work It Out, Rocky
Raccoon, Michelle and the obligatory
Hey Jude.
While My Guitar was a fabulous show, a nostalgic journey
down a road of happy memories.
One only hopes that
it has a life beyond the Hilton Arts Festival and makes it to a stage
elsewhere. Maybe even Durban? – Keith Millar
Posts
