Typical, you wait years for a musical about a woman politician then two come along at once. After last week’s show about Shirley Chisholm, we now have this one about Jennie Lee, who served as a Labour Member of Parliament having two terms in office; first from 1929 until 1931 and then from 1945 until 1970. What makes her life so interesting was that she was the youngest ever Member of Parliament when first elected and, being 24 years old, she wasn’t even old enough to vote, the minimum age for women at that time being 30. Her other claim to fame was that she facilitated the founding of the Open University.
It is appropriate that her life deserves a musical as she was born in Lochgelly, Fife, in 1904, the daughter of a miner and hotelier, whose premises were adjacent to the local theatre thus attracting the performers of the time as clientele. She would sneak into the playhouse on a regular basis to watch the acts. In her later days in government she was Minister for the Arts. During her tenure in this position she renewed the charter of the Arts Council of Great Britain, facilitating the expansion of its work in the regions as well as new arts institutions at the South Bank Centre in London.
Despite the groundbreaking achievements reached on her own account, she will no doubt be mainly remembered for being married to Aneurin (Nye) Bevan who, like her father, was a miner, but in the coalfields of South Wales. After the war he was appointed Minister of Health by Clement Attlee, and oversaw the introduction of the National Health Service Act in 1948, nationalising over 2,500 hospitals in the UK.
Although the husband and wife were devout socialists, Jennie Lee believed that the workers deserved more than just a basic living and her slogan was ‘Bread and Roses’ to imply that a degree of luxury was also necessary.
Georgina Liley, Eddie Ahrens, Mark Emmons and Laura Robinson
The show itself was performed by the quartet of Eddie Ahrens, Georgina Liley, Lauren Robinson and Mark Emmons and took the format of a Music Hall show from the early part of the last century. It seemed odd to see that the set was a mock-up of a theatre as we were in a real theatre, but, as this is Mikron and future performances take place at venues from an allotment to a fish restaurant, they have to keep it simple, and constant.
The four players are extremely accomplished actors, singers and musicians who had to call upon all of their skills to present the piece. They switched accents – and instruments – with aplomb whilst singing and dancing the night away.
There was no such thing as a ‘main’ character as all of the participants were on stage throughout, but Jennie Lee was played by Lauren Robinson, depicting the subject from childhood to senior citizen. The comedy, of which there was plenty, was delivered slickly and was mostly witty except for the cringeworthy jests from the theatre’s emcee. ‘What do you get if you drop a piano down a pitshaft? – A flat miner!’ I rest my case.
I have grown very fond of the way in which Mikron tell their stories. It is a little formulaic, but it is based on a formula which works, bringing the audience new facts in a way which makes them entertaining and memorable. I was worried at the start that this production was going to be a let-down as it began with the cast singing the Florrie Forde song, Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly, the name being changed to Jennie. Anyone familiar with the ditty will know that the moniker is then spelt out K-E-Double L-Y which fits the tune perfectly. When altered to J-E-Double N-I-E, however, it doesn’t scan but that was a great way to embed the correct spelling in our minds. The problem occurred when they moved to the next line which they sang as Jennie (Kelly) from the Emerald Isle, when it should have been Jennie (Kelly) from the Isle of Man. I really can’t work out why the change was necessary. OK, Jennie wasn’t from the Isle of Man, but, being a Scot, neither was she from Ireland. I think that it must be out of copyright by now so that can’t be it. I am still mystified – no change there then.
The story moved along at a brisk pace and, once again, proved what a talented lot those people from the narrowboat are. The Writer and Lyricist was Lindsay Rodden, the Composer, Sonum Batra, Music Director and Arranger, Robert Cooper; Integrated Audio Description Consultant, Ben Wilson; Set and Costume Designer, Celia Perkins and the Director was Marianne McNamara.
The bulk of this year’s venues are in the Midlands and South as that is where the craft will be navigating the canals, but there are several back in this area so I suggest that you get a ticket if you can for this wonderful evening of entertainment and education. Should you have any idea as to the Emerald Isle reference, please keep it to yourself as I hope to have expunged it from my memory bank very shortly.
For details of the show and the tour dates, please go to https://mikron.org.uk/shows/jennie-lee/
For their other productions and more about Mikron it is https://mikron.org.uk/about/who-what-where/
To see what is on at Bingley Arts Centre click on https://www.bingleyartscentre.co.uk/
Photographs by Anthony Robling
Tyke It To The Limit 