Beyond Breaking Glass
Beyond Breaking Glass
Hazel O Connor with Cormac De Barra
Universal Arts Theatre, Freemasons Hall, 96 George St,
Edinburgh
Aug 16 – 17: 00.15 (1 hour 10 mins) £15.00
Aug 18: 19.30 (1 hour 30 mins) £17.50
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
I loved the show, so much it gave me inspiration and I had a vision of how I would have liked to develop it.
Hazel O Connor’s voice is amazing. She belts out tracks, from her albums, Blackwater, Runaway, Blackman,Calls The Tune, Big Brother, If Only, Driftwood, Rebecca, and more.
My favourite track being, Will You. Hazel had a good tale to tell, as to why she would never leave that song out of her show.
Cormac De Barra and Hazel blend well together, in harmony. Cormac plays the harp beautifully, inheriting the talents from the grandmother who trained him.
The venue at The Freemasons Hall, George Street, Edinburgh, reminded me of a traditional Music Hall.
It would be great if Hazel O Connor developed this, Music Hall Experience throughout her tours as it fits with their experimentation with vaudeville, as they use puppets, incorporating ventriloquism into their show.
Vaudeville was big in Music Halls, in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the USA. It was seen to be more respectable than burlesque at the time.
In England in the 18th and 19th centuries Vaudeville was performed in City Taverns to the working class, it later became popular to the growing middle class, working its way to Music Halls.
Music Halls of the time were filled with such performers as Lillie Langtry, Harry Lauder and Gracie Fields.
Vaudeville flourished with dances, sketches, acrobatics, ventriloquisms and various songs. It would be great if Hazel O Connor developed my ideas, with costumes matching each punk era.
The beginning of her show could be a Pop Punk revival, the height of her success, leading up to a Celtic Punk infusion with Cormack De Barra, leading into Brechtian Punk Cabaret, with vaudeville and burlesque thrown in, (with bowler hats, garters and mime make-up).
My ideas of how Beyond Breaking Glass revival ten years later, will raise a few eyebrows, but would infuse Hazel’s love for music and theatre combined.
The show first appeared at The Claremont Bar, Edinburgh ten years ago and as Hazel is still as popular today as when she first started, her revival will be hugely successful.
Hazel and Cormac are extremely talented, gifted individuals you will enjoy seeing them perform.
If interested in cabaret, burlesque, vaudeville, music halls, punk, Hazel O Connor, Cormac De Barra, click on following links:-
www.last.fm/tag/brechtian%20punk%20cabaret
www.answers.com/topic/celtic-punk-1
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