Ladies in Black

The Canberra Theatre Centre's "Collected Works" series has captured many marvels, Ladies in Black being the most lightheartedly musical in a while. It may be said to be a tale of little plot, and is most readily summed up as light musical comedy, but the many characters whose lives you will share will easily steal into your heart.

The musical’s chief setting being the multifaceted ladies'-clothing department of an elegant 1950s clothing emporium, it featured beautiful costumes, on mannequins and dancers alike, in all the elegance and subtle allure that truly feminine dresses can display.  Of course, though this old-world store's dresses themselves were a delight to behold, it was their wearers' success in reviving elegantly feminine posture and motion that brought them to life, with some assistance from superb lighting, suitably elegant staging, and Andrew Hallsworth’s precise choreography.

Gabriela Tylesova’s stage design, spare but remarkable, deserves a special mention for its facility in moving floors in delivering actors and furniture to and from the stage with seamless decorum.

The dancing was well coordinated and refreshingly original without seeming in the least anachronistic, and acting was superb. The greatest surprise, though, was the quality of the music, orchestrated by Guy Simpson. Backed by musical director David Young’s tight live orchestra of half a dozen sounding like twice that number, the cast sang and harmonised even rapid numbers artlessly even as they danced, doing justice to Tim Finn's very clever, frequently poetic lyrics with clear articulation and to his sophisticated melodies with flawless pitch, Michael Waters’s superb sound design ensuring that the perfectly balanced sound reached the audience at a comfortable volume.

This production is sure to lighten your load and day, its collective artistry giving a rapid two and a half hours of uncompromising visual and aural pleasure.

John P. Harvey

Photographer: John P. Harvey.