PIAF, AT THE TOWN AND GOWN
Christine Bovill
There are rare moments in the theatre when time seems to stand still and one is borne on some kind of magic carpet of dreams. One such took place for me last night at Cambridge’s pub theatre, the Town and Gown. The show simply called ‘Piaf’ was a tribute to the great chanteuse by Christine Bovill. I say ‘simply’ because its great strength was in its very simplicity. No frills, no razzamatazz – just a wonderful performer singing the songs of a legendary singer who similarly would take the stage in a simple black dress, the little sparrow powering out her unforgettable chansons letting her voice and soul do the work. Bovill’s tribute contained some of Piaf’s best-loved songs: L’Accordioniste, Les Feuilles Mortes, Milord and Trenet’s achingly gorgeous Ne me quitte pas.
We discover something of Piaf’s tough life though the accent is on celebration not maudlin memories of her many tragedies. We also discover Bovill’s own story about hearing Piaf for the first time at the age of 14 as a wee Glasgow girl. It was, she told the rapt audience, confirmation of a famous quote by Graham Greene: ‘There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.’ A Piaf vinyl was that doorway to a lifelong devotion for the songs (and a spur for the erstwhile bad French student, to immerse herself in the language of Paris). Bovil’s style is highly engaging – warm and personal, happy to converse with the audience who in turn were delighted to share her passion for Piaf.
Bovill’s singing voice is full of power and well-tempered emotion. This was not an impersonation of Piaf, but a re-working in a voice that was full of respect for the original but also very much her own. By the time we got to the finale – inevitably and quite rightly Piaf’s late masterpiece Non, je ne regrette rien we were already transfixed. It was not possible that 75 minutes had flown by and soon that warmth, those songs and that voice would be gone. The good news though is that Christine Bovill will return to the Town and Gown in summer with her tribute to Paris. I trust that time will fly by and soon we will hear that voice again.
