Tag Archives: Hayes Theatre

Blue: The Songs of Joni Mitchell 

7 Jul

There’s talk Joni Mitchell should be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. She’s an extraordinary lyricist and writes beautiful melodies. Some people suggest – that when the time comes – Mitchell should be made the patron saint of melancholy.

However, I think her metier is simply honesty. Her songs are deeply personal – but not in the contemporary fashion of My story must be told – rather in the more generous-hearted sense of This is where it hurts for me; perhaps it’s the same for you?

This seems to be Queenie van de Zandt’s experience of Mitchell. And, just as Dante had Virgil to guide him through Hell and Purgatory, and Beatrice to escort him through Heaven, we’ve been blessed with the best of all guides in our journey through Mitchell’s utterly divine catalogue.

van de Zandt has the most exquisite voice and her interpretation of the songs is so clear and so genuine that it transcends mere performance and becomes a soul-expanding sharing.

Under the musical direction of Max Lambert, her band is utterly superb.

There are songs from the album Blue, but also some of Mitchell’s popular hits like Big Yellow Taxi, Woodstock and Both Sides Now. Written by van de Zandt and Lambert, the show places each song within a biographical context, either Mitchell’s or our guides’.

This splendid evening of cabaret is both the perfect introduction to Mitchell’s work and a priceless celebration for long-time fans.

Paul Gilchrist

Blue: The Songs of Joni Mitchell 

Starring Queenie van de Zandt

At Hayes Theatre until July 7

hayestheatre.com.au

Image by Maria Alzate

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Blacklisted

14 Nov

Almitra Mavalvala has an absolutely beautiful voice and is a gifted songwriter.

Blacklisted is non-fiction, a sharing of Mavalvala’s personal story.

The title refers to Canada’s refusal to give her a visa. She holds a passport from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. She tells the story of leaving Karachi to pursue her dreams, and eventually ending up here.

Supported by a terrific band  – Tim Cunniffe on keyboard, Kayla Flax on cello and Sarita McHarg on sitar – Mavalvala’s music is mesmerising. Her spoken story has intriguing gaps. I wanted to know more about why she felt had to leave Pakistan. I wanted to know why she thinks Pakistan is “broken”. I would have loved the story to dig deeper into her assumption that she should be able to travel anywhere on the planet. Her argument is that she has been a victim of discrimination and I don’t question that – but when you consider how human cultures have long fought over land and access to resources, it’s odd that we moderns feel we have a right to go everywhere. I’m not defending parochialism, but living in a society in which virtually every theatre production begins with an acknowledgement of country that asserts “sovereignty was never ceded” it should come as no surprise that not every border is automatically open to us.

Mavalvala has some rich musings on belonging and the nature of home. As this work continues to develop – and I hope it does because Australian audiences need more like this – I encourage her to transcend the current theatrical tropes of victimhood, using her testimony of injustice as a step to explore the many walls we build and our reasons for building them, and sharing the beauty that is revealed when even a single brick is removed from one of those walls.

That beauty is implicit already in Mavalvala’s musical performance, and I count myself fortunate to have been in the audience for the show’s “First Look” season.   

Paul Gilchrist

Blacklisted written and performed by Almitra Mavalvala       

First Look Season, 9 -12 Nov, Hayes Theatre

www.rogueprojects.com.au/blacklisted

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