I Sing

Presented by: Glen Barnett and Krystal Shute

Venue: Treble Clef Lounge, Chirnside Park

Reviewer: Jennie Kellaway

Date Reviewed: Thursday 29^th October 2009

What a great night of music, song and theatre! Glen Barnett and Krystal Shute’s new company (Is this company called anything?) presented I Sing at the ‘Treble Clef Jazz Lounge’ in Chirnside Park. Not one of Melbourne’s better known theatrical venues - but you need to go and see this show in this space. Rather reminiscence of the Fab Nobs cabaret style set up, with a brilliant bar and loads of atmosphere, the Treble Clef should be now on your list of amazing places to hear great music. With Chris and Damon Shute behind the bar, and bookings for both this show and other themed nights, proving popular, the Shute family seem to have Chirnside Park and surrounds, well covered.

In their Producer’s notes, Glen and Krystal maintain that their company wants to entertain their audiences with quality shows, minus too many gimmicks, and focus on the talents and skills of the performers. Well they certainly achieved their aim.

Within the room they created five performance spaces, complete with well dressed sets and cleverly hidden props and costumes. Performers entered and exited through the one door which again became another part of the set. Creatively lit by Graeme Barnett, the lighting was simple but effective in drawing attention to the performers in their space. Director Joel Batalha had his actors using many parts of the room as part of the show. No mean feat pulling off a full scale production in a restaurant, Joel should be commended for the smooth flow of the show. Pianist James Simpson did a sterling job accompanying the five performers, and the performers worked without any conducting assistance from Musical Director Glenn Barnett, who was himself one of the actors.

The five performers created loveable crazy characters, all with their own idiosyncrasies; some more than others - Glenn Barnett’s Alan even sings about his strange desires and fetishes. Glen seems to gain a depth of understanding in the characters he creates and he really does like the off-beat ‘teddy bear’ types. Krystal Shute as Heidi demonstrated a range of emotions and has grown into a mature performer. Her vocals were strong and she had an understanding of the depths to bring to her emotive performance. Ryan Purdy’s Nicky created the right amount of confused angst in a young lawyer and Daniel Solomon’s sexually confused Charlie was both humorous and endearing. Daniel too impressed with his vocals and his range of emotions sustained well throughout the development of the show. Noni Garratt’s voice was in the ‘blow you away’ category, particularly during her number ‘Starting over’. The only criticism I had for all the actors was that this story is set in Manhattan and as such, I would have liked to see a little more of the flavour in accents, more so in inflections rather than heavy American/New York/Jewish accents.

Vocally all five performers were exciting and engaging. There were times when some of the performers pushed a little too hard and as the show is only running for 4 nights, not too much damage could be done to voices but the acoustics in the venue are great and every word and lyric could be heard, which was a triumph, considering no one used amplification. The harmony work was again a credit to Glen as MD and the other actors.

I Sing was a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking production. I heartily support the endeavours of talented performers endeavouring to present talent in a new way, as well as tell as story. It is also terrific to hear the talents of five obviously talented and dedicated young performers. Let’s hope they plan many more gems like this one in this venue.

Jennie has performed with many with theatre companies for more years than she cares to remember. A primary teacher, with post graduate qualifications in Arts Education, she has taught drama, choir and performing arts and been involved in all facets of stage craft. Her most recent stage exploits were in SHooSH Productions -The Musical of Musicals( the musical) in August this year.

Back To Reviews