REVIEW: Street Songs: A Busker’s Tale by Brett Snelgrove at Golden Goose Theatre 16 – 27 April 2024

 ‘An entertaining show with audience participation’ ★★★

The show is a busker’s tale of what it’s like to make an entrance onto the music scene via this precarious opportunity. It is also, we are told in the programme, playwright Brett Snelgrove’s tribute to his father, a means of processing the loss of his dad, a theme which is woven into the show.

Jamie (Ollie West) is dealing with the loss of his father, who was a busker and decides the best way to grieve is to become a busker himself.   It’s not as easy as he imagines with competition coming from seasoned regular Charlie (Evie Joy Wright). Charlie already has her ‘hook’, drumming on anything and everything, to draw the audience in and she doesn’t care to share her pitch. However, she reluctantly begins to warm to Jamie and to mentor him. Just as, it seems that the pair are making an original sound together which would enable them to get pub bookings, Jamie has a change of heart.  The play hinges on whether they really want the same things or Jamie is just processing his bereavement.

It is a very entertaining show, with audience participation. We’re instructed to give coins to the newbie guitarist and notes to the experienced drummer. If anyone should wonder why they should go and listen to a tale of two buskers in a theatre, the actor’s do harmonize very beautifully, and the music is pleasant enough. The actors play their roles well and have a certain rapport. 

Evie Joy Wright has the hardest job which she pulls off convincingly as the street wise entertainer who has determination and ambition to make it as a professional musician. Ollie West playing Jamie, has less to work with, as he’s given a lot of backstory which he narrates to the audience. It’s a pity and perhaps a failing of the piece, because this feels rather static and makes it harder for the audience to empathise with the character’s loss.  Would it have worked better if the circumstances of his dad’s passing had come out in dialogue between the two buskers? It might have given an opportunity for more depth of feeling, conflict and a reveal, taking the audience along with him on his journey. 

Square Jaw Productions Presents

Street Songs: A Busker’s Tale

Directed by Lawrence Carmichael

Written by Brett Snelgrove

Tues 16th - Sat 27th April