With the right vehicle a musician can stake their claim in the world of acting. From Madonna in 1996’s Evita to Melanie Brown in the 2004 revival of Rent, the musical stage and screen is becoming readily accepted as a platform on which such musical artists may step. I was excited at the prospect of not only seeing the one-woman Andrew Lloyd Webber show Tell Me On A Sunday for the first time, but for the fact that Carly Binding was that one woman. However, with David Coddington at the wheel as director, this vehicle could be Binding’s tomb.

The fact that Coddington is not only the Associate Director of the South Seas Film and TV School which he co-founded in 1991 (the on-screen acting course of which he developed 10 years later), but is also the Head of the School of Performing Arts at the Manukau Institute of Technology is genuinely terrifying.

My heart goes out to Binding who has been left to, certainly not strut, but fret her hour upon the stage with some of the most superfluous stage direction I’ve ever seen. She is full of sound, but no fury, which leads to me wonder whether Coddington actually delved into anything to do with the concept of reacting truthfully under imaginary circumstances with Binding, because there is clearly something in her which wants to break out, but hasn’t been shown how to. [More] 

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The decision to stage this rarely performed one-act musical is hardly a risk, what with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s name on the credits, but it does put the pressure on to deliver the goods once the lights go down.

The show is full of numbers that have become standards in their own right, already known to most of an audience. On the flip side, this also one of the stumbling blocks of this production. The fact that some of the songs are standards should be ignored and taken in rehearsal at face value. Their origin and roots seem to have been somewhat lost and forsaken for the sake of presentation. At times it feels more like a concert than musical theatre. Standards are fine on an album but on stage they need to step back into the show as part of a whole so we can, indeed, empathise with character and story. 

Carly Binding is comfortable on stage on her own, handling props and skilful costume changes with ease that shows a professional touch but her own pop singer origins come to the forefront in delivery. An aversion to ‘stand still and deliver’ – a powerful piece of direction in any show – jars on the eyes and distracts a little from the vocals.

Hopefully it’s a case of finding her feet with an audience and grasping the courage of her convictions and her talent will come through in the season but is something that should have been dealt with in rehearsal. The maxim ‘less is more’ is said for a reason. Binding has the courage and talent to be up there, however musical-theatre direction seemed to be slightly lacking.

The exception is the beautiful ‘Unexpected Song’, with Binding coolly leaning against her writing desk and letting the character and words do the work for her.

She is at her best with her lyrical, understated interpretation of the ballads. When it come to proving her worth where the powerful numbers require belt voice, it feels as if she is holding back.  

Production wise, it’s all spot on. Robin Kelly, yet again, delivers a first rate band and orchestrates it well. The score comes alive and blends well with Binding’s vocals. The sound, uncredited, is smooth and clear. 

Brad Gledhill creates mood and ambience, showing that time and talent went into the lighting design to follow Binding and story around the stage.

Costume, again uncredited, was simple and perfect and the dressing of the bare stage is all that’s needed. 

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