Remember when you heard your first Elton John song? ‘Your Song’ is a brilliant collection of those memories from people all around Brisbane.
The team that brought you ‘There’s Something About Music’, ‘Lady Beatle’, and ‘Rumour Has It’, is back with one of their best shows yet: ‘Your Song’. The show marks The Little Red Company Artistic Director Naomi Price’s directorial debut for the company and is the first major production staged in the revamped Judith Wright Arts Centre following a three-year closure. Celebrating the unforgettable music of the iconic Elton John, Naomi Price’s hand-picked talent reimagines some of his biggest songs, including ‘Candle In The Wind’, ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, ‘I’m Still Standing’, ‘Benny And The Jets’ and ‘Tiny Dancer, alongside some powerful and mostly untold personal experiences and stories shared by real-life people.
The team that brings life to these memories that we all forgot we had is made up of Andy Cook (‘Chicago’, ‘Priscilla’), Marcus Corowa (‘Bran Nue Dae’, ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’), Luke Kennedy (‘There’s Something About Music’, ‘Swing on This’) and Irena Lysiuk (‘The IsoLate Late Show’, ‘Tosca’), backed by a live band featuring Mik Easterman (drums), Michael Manikus (keys) and OJ Newcomb (bass). Each brought their own element of Elton to the stage, making it a melting pot of soul, jazz and plenty of colour – the perfect tribute to the megastar.
A stand out of the night was Irena Lysiuk, whose harmonies carried through the Judith Wright Arts Centre beautifully alongside the smooth tones of Andy, Marcus and Luke. Her renditions of Elton’s classics were emotional and unforgettable, and left goosebumps up the arms of the audience, most notably during her take of ‘Your Song’. Of course, the colourful set that backed the cast was a beautiful introduction to the show before the lights even went down, and the band was nothing short of spectacular. The musical talent is never disappointing when seeing The Little Red Company’s shows, and ‘Your Song’ was no different.
‘Your Song’ is a collection of stories about heartbreak and hope, pain and passion, first loves and final moments, all bound together by the iconic music that played a soundtrack to those moments. Everyone can identify with the first time they heard Elton John’s music, and ‘Your Song’ brings those memories to life, which makes for an emotional performance that will leave everyone feeling nostalgic. If you’re looking for a show that you can sing along to, that will pull on your heart strings, and leave you breathless, ‘Your Song’ is that show. An excellent directorial debut for Naomi Price, and yet another astonishing set and production feat for The Little Red Company.
★★★★☆ 1/2
'Your Song' plays the Judith Wright Arts Centre until 1 May.
