Theatre review: Blues in the Night

Sheldon Epps’ revue Blues in the Night first appeared off-Broadway in 1980, and it’s probably no coincidence that that’s a couple of years after Ain’t Misbehavin’, which has also recently been revived in London. Before the concept of the jukebox musical came along to build a narrative around existing songs, both of these shows presented a much more loosely-connected collection of hit songs of the 1920s and ‘30s; although unlike the earlier show, Blues in the Night doesn’t theme itself around one specific composer or performer (although songwriter Bessie Smith seems to be represented more than most.) Instead it dips into a variety of jazz and blues standards and gives them to three women and a man in a dingy hotel/bar in the wee small hours of a hot Southern night. The title suggests this could be quite a downbeat evening but while a lot of the songs deal with trying to cope during the Great Depression, as well as with the ubiquitous musical theme of personal heartbreak, most of the time we’re in for a much more upbeat, defiant and sexy mood.

There’s a definite air of nostalgia to the piece, personified by The Lady (Future Dame Sharon D. Clarke,) the closest thing the show has to a narrator, as her numbers are occasionally interspersed with spoken reminiscences of days when times were better (and the men were better in bed.)

The Girl (Gemma Sutton) is having relationship heartbreak of her own, while The Woman (Debbie Kurup) is at the lowest point of any of the characters. There’s also The Man (Clive Rowe,) whose confidence and charm don’t seem to have impressed anyone else much, but this is very much the women’s show. Inevitably it’s Clarke who dominates – she’s really having a moment lately and this is another in her string of successes – and she can wring out emotion while still giving off strength; even “Wasted Life Blues,” with its “what will become of poor me?” refrain, comes across as essentially defiant. Susie McKenna’s production isn’t afraid to go to the darker side of the story – as The Man sings about being a lucky man downstage, The Woman shoots up in the dark behind him – but also foregrounds stories that would have been in the shadows in the real 1930s, like when during "It Makes My Love Come Down" the male backing dancers dance together.

Kurup’s big number is "Rough and Ready Man," although I did wonder what songwriter Alberta Hunter thought “double jointed” meant – unlike the raunchier songs this very much sets the action during the Depression and the main thing The Woman wants from a man is that he have a job. No such ambiguity in Clarke’s other showstopper “Kitchen Man,” which is just an audaciously smutty collection of food-based double-entendres (“Oh, how that boy can open clam!”) Robert Jones’ set, Neil Austin’s lighting, Lotte Collett’s costumes and Avgoustos Psillas’ sound convey the smoky, sultry atmosphere so effectively that at times I almost forgot it wasn’t really four in the morning. As with its predecessor this is really more revue/cabaret than outright musical theatre, but it does come closer to providing a more rounded sense of character and story, which taken together with the performances of songs which have stood the test of time makes for a satisfying evening.

Blues in the Night by Sheldon Epps, Bessie Smith, Harry Akst, Grant Clarke, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Charlie Davis, Willard Robison, Ted Koehler, Mack Gordon, Harry Revel, Andy Razaf, Alex Bellenda, Vernon Duke, Milton Drake, Ben Oakland, Your Mum, Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez, Jimmy Sherman, Geo. W. Thomas, Alberta Hunter, H. Grey, Leola Wilson, Wesley Wilson, Harry Link, Jack Strachey, Holt Marvell, Bernard Hanighen, Gordon Jenkins, Ida Cox and Ann Ronell is booking until the 7th of September at the Kiln Theatre.

Running time: 2 hours 5 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Matt Humphrey.