I’m going to have to be honest with you right from the start; I’m not an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. The man annoys me, and apart from being taken to see Joseph and his Multicoloured Dreamcoat with my school when about 10, I’m not too bothered about going to any of his productions.
I don’t know why, but ‘Tell Me On A Sunday’ leapt out at me to go and see it, maybe it was all the billboards around town.
I went to the show with a completely open mind, I didn’t know any of the songs or even what the story was about. It was actually quite liberating because I’d never been in that position before when it came to a gig or a show, as I’d always done some homework before going if I didn’t know anything about the performer.
The show was being performed at the Darlington Civic Theatre, which is an excellent theatre, friendly staff and a great sound system which comes over very clear.
‘Tell Me’ is a one woman show which I didn’t realize until halfway through the first half. It stars Claire Sweeney, you know her, she’s the one from Brookside and one of those ‘turn a house around in 5 minutes’ programmes. Now call me ignorant but I also didn’t know that she was a singer, and what a singer, one word – amazing.
The show was mostly based in New York and in her apartment. The set was minimal but very well done, with the 5 piece band sitting on top of the apartment rooftop with the New York skyline behind them. The songs were all based around her relationship(s) whilst waiting for her green card, with some songs being very humorous and other songs emotional.
I was surprised at how short the whole show was, clocking in at less than 90 minutes, but it was left on the shoulders of Ms.Sweeney and she delivered to such a high standard I wasn’t left disappointed.
I would recommend this show and if Claire Sweeney popped into town again, I would go see her too, especially as she was down to her underwear in one part of the show, which made it all the more enjoyable!