An Australian Songbook: Robyn Archer

There have been many important musical events in my life, none more so than seeing Robyn Archer playing Annie 1 in Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht to open the Space theatre at the Adelaide Festival Centre in 1974. I later discovered that this was her first role, so I feel honoured to have seen her in this iconic piece of German theatre.

I have been fascinated with this Australian chanteuse ever since. She is equally at home with German cabaret as she is with country music which is her roots.

An Australian Songbook could be called the soundtrack of Robyn’s life. At 75, the higher end of her voice may not be what it once was, but the warm and engaging tone and crystal-clear enunciation are all there as is the love for Australian music. She is a storyteller, and this production takes the form of a narrative concert with the focus being on music.

Her band, or fellow artists, form an integral part of the production. George Butrumlis on piano accordion and vocals, Cameron Goodall on banjo, guitar and vocals and Enio Pozzebon on keyboards and vocals do more than accompany Archer, they are part of her story. They work as a unit, blending perfectly and ensuring that every word of Archer’s lyrics is heard, right to the back of the Dunstan Playhouse.

An Australian Songbook:Robyn Archer covers almost 200 years of Australian music and commentary. Archer simultaneously lampoons and extols the virtues of being Australian. The production features Indigenous songs (sung with permission), Irish convict laments, country music dispersed with political comment. She reminds us that we are living on one of the oldest continents in the world with the oldest inhabitants and respect is due.

She straddles time and place, moving from the 19th century to the here and now with consummate ease, using songs from Bon Scott to Kate Miller-Heidke and First Nations’ songwriters.

This carefully selected repertoire has its roots in the underground; a collection of truths that aren’t always pleasant. As an audience, you won’t know every song, but that is Archer’s intention. She educates as well as entertains and sometimes the message may not sit comfortably. That’s as it should be; Archer encourages us to examine our own values.

I particularly enjoyed the haunting ‘Jaara Nyilamum’, the hilarious duet between Pozzebon and Goodall (as Kernot) from ‘Keating! The Musical’, ‘The Menstruation Blues’ and The Backyard Abortion Waltz’.

The production concludes with a medley of anthems, jingles and pub songs written about towns and cities across Australia including ‘I’m Going Back Again to Yarrawonga’, my personal favourite.

An Australian Songbook:Robyn Archer is a two-plus hours audience with one of the legends of Australian song and theatre and not to be missed!

Barry Hill OAM

Photographer: Claudio Raschella