Sam is a cabaret performer, now stuck, for his final hours, in an airport hotel, a long way from the love of his life. There are others there too, so he puts on a show, for what else is there to do? As frequent announcements make clear, the sun is about to explode, the world as they know it is about to come to an end. Time for…. entertainment? Reflection? Love? What to do with your final breaths? As he says, the bucket list crowd must be exhausted.
A strong solo performance from Marc Mackinnon. Perfectly camp, a charismatic performer, slightly larger than life. A decent enough singer, and charming pianist. His accompaniment to Let It Be was truly beautiful - sparse, minimalist, with simple additions of what was required to enhance the melody and lyric.
But. Regular readers will know I am no fan of musicals. Too much song and dance, not enough story. And so it is here. An intriguing premise wasted on classic songs. Every time it felt like there was something of real interest building, off he'd go to the piano. Opportunities spurned.
Yes, it did mention how trivial how much of our lives seem in the light (!) of such an event. That material belongings mean little, nor cleaning or acquiring, when the reality of life bites. But it never felt like it would be going deep enough. Here was a chance to ponder what really matters to people, lost to song after song.
However well done (and there was some clever use of props on an well planned set) this was a frustrating experience, as I sat there willing it to be better than it was - the better it could and should have been.
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