CLOVERTON In Love & In Wine
Te Auaha, Tapere Nui, 65 Dixon Street, Te Aro, Wellington
25/11/2022 - 27/11/2022
Production Details
Libretto by Dave Armstrong
Music by Henry Purcell
Musical director - Gordon Lehany
Stage director - Jacqueline Coat
A modern semi-opera by The Queen's Closet
Five young Kiwis tell their tales of life and relationships, from funny to tragic – music by Henry Purcell & new libretto by Dave Armstrong
Cloverton:In Love & In Wine, the ground-breaking new show by period performance company The Queen’s Closet, is a new piece of musical theatre that transcends time. Our show is a modern re-imagining of the semi-opera, an art form iconic to 17th century London. Cloverton is the first new semi-opera written in over 300 years, fusing music of Henry Purcell with a contemporary libretto written by Dave Armstrong.
The Queen’s Closet is delighted to welcome you to the fictional provincial town of Cloverton, and more specifically the Cloverton Arms garden bar, where five ordinary young Kiwis—who could easily be someone who you know—pour their hearts out about their lives: waxing and agonising on their hopes, fears, aspirations, and relationships using contemporary words and 300-year-old songs. Their stories are witty and fun, wistful and tragic, fused with Purcell’s music that is rousing, thought-provoking and soothing for characters and audience alike.
The Sunday afternoon performance will be audio described.
Warning: This show references themes of mental health and suicide.
Te Auaha, 65 Dixon Street, Wellington
25 – 27 November 2022
Musical , Opera , Theatre ,
Stories of provincial Aotearoa skilfully woven into the Purcell’s 17th century Baroque works
Review by Vicki Thorpe 29th Nov 2022
Henry Purcell, one of England’s greatest composers, wrote sacred and secular Baroque music including opera. During his brief life (1659-1695), Purcell also composed music for over 50 plays, the aim of which was to arouse emotion in the playgoer and support the action.
By some accounts, Henry also liked to have a drink with his mates at the pub and sing rude songs of his own devising. What if Purcell had composed music for a contemporary play/semi-opera, set in a provincial New Zealand pub? This rather unlikely question was answered by writer Dave Armstrong and “17th century musical company for the 21st century”, The Queen’s Closet.
The Queen’s Closet is an early music ensemble presenting 17th century music. Included in the ensemble are hoboys, natural trumpets, recorders, Baroque strings, timpani, guitar, harpsichord and that heavy metal Baroque equivalent, the theorbo. (If you haven’t come across one look it up – an impressive sight).
I’ve attended a couple of Queen’s Closet concerts. Elegant, and beautifully played they may have been, but the phase “karaoke night” doesn’t immediately spring to mind. This project is downright audacious. I settle in, ogle the beautiful instruments, and do not know what to expect.
Lights up on the Cloverton Arms, a pub in the town of Cloverton “somewhere in New Zealand”. Tony De Goldi’s set is immediately recognisable as a typical Kiwi pub. Bar manager Kelly – superbly played and sung by soprano Barbara Paterson – welcomes us to the pub as she and barman Dom (baritone Mark Bobb), wipe tables and polish glasses.
Enter a women’s touch team, the Four Leaf Clovertons (Rowena Simpson, Anna Sedcole, Andrea Cochrane) and beer-sculling rugby clubbers, The Master Blasters (John Beaglehole, Toby Gee, Chris Girvan, Keith Small.) I recognise these fine singers…. but only just. The mood is jocular, very Kiwi and more than a little drunken.
The play revolves around the stories of five (non-singing) characters interspersed with Purcell choruses, arias, duets and a couple of (rude) catches. Gordon and Sharon Lehany’s choices of music are so apt one could almost be persuaded they had been written for the play. Armstrong has skilfully woven stories of provincial Aotearoa into the Purcell works, creating a coherent drama. Bandleader, Gordon Lehany directs the ensemble with confident poise and the players responded likewise.
The Queen’s Closet flanks the action as the pub band and are urbane, humorous and supportive. The chorus, all of whom sing solos and duets throughout the play, are thoroughly entertaining. The singing, by everyone, is outstanding.
Five well-cast young actors tell their stories. Dan (Barnaby Olson) is becoming disenchanted with his boozy rugby mates. Olsen’s Dan is funny, blokey and poignant in equal measure. Jess, the bar maid (Dani Meldrum) is haunted by a creepy, violent lover. Meldrum draws us inexorably in to Jess’s chilling story with utter conviction and emotional punch.
Tracey (Hannah Kelly) and Rachel (Tess Sullivan) grapple unsuccessfully with small town (bi)sexual politics, both convincingly, and at times hilariously, capturing the hidden insecurities of the ‘loud girl’, and the vulnerable single woman. Kasi Valu is superb in the role of Semi, new father and NRL wanna-be, who relates a tragic story of sport and exploitation.
The most powerful and moving moment in Cloverton for me was when Valu performs an achingly tragic traditional Tongan funeral dance, expressing Semi’s grief on the loss of his friend. This is accompanied by the chorus, singing ‘With Drooping Wings’, and Dido’s lament ‘When I am Laid in Earth’, sung by Toby Gee. Lehany describes this moment as “the perfect marriage of cultures”. I agree, it is.
Jaqueline Coat’s careful attention to detail reveals many thoughtful, finely nuanced relationships. In a fairly small space, skilfully lit by Elekis Teirney, the large cast performs dances from Purcell’s time, a rugby scrum, slow-motion action replays and inappropriate romantic overtures, directed with wit and skill.
I’ve enjoyed Cloverton and I reckon, Queens Closet (et al), that youse should do it again. 17th century Baroque music? A bloody good show, mate.
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