About Bill

He’s My

About Bill

by Bernie Gaughan, music and lyrics by Matthew Strachan

Take Note at the Theatre at the Tabard, Chiswick until 9^th September

Review by Claire Alexander

We never meet legendary trumpeter Bill Fitzgerald (fictitious it would seem – I can’t find him on google – but in the image of the memorable jazz musicians of the mid-twentieth Century), but his presence pervades the stage throughout the performance of About Bill.  Written by Bernie Gaughan and music and lyrics by Matthew Strachan, it is an evocative and poignant musical drama of Bill’s life seen through the perspective of the many women in his life, from the schoolgirl crush, to the flawed romance with the recovering addict in his later years.

Most impressive is that Kim Ismay (for whom I understand the piece was written) plays all the women with absolute verve and versatility.

Bill was born on the eve of the Second World War, son of an aging itinerant showgirl.  He never knew his father; I’m not sure his mother did either.  He was given some stability in his early life by his gently fierce but fiercely loyal aunt, Aunty Dot, whose engaging narrative provides the thread throughout the production.  We meet his schoolgirl crush, Joyce; his lovelorn landlady Gloria; the four other romantic liaisons in his life who all represent and bring out different aspects of Bill’s multi complex character.  There are showgirl Mitzi, hippy aristocrat Miranda, dodgy Mexican Lopita who enjoys spending the fruits of his success leaving him penniless, and finally fellow addict Helen who meets Bill while they were both in rehab in the late 1980s.  And then most importantly and most poignantly is his daughter Sally with whom he was reunited only in the few years before he died – tragically young in 1990 after his colourful life, with its early success and adulation followed by long slow decline when he fell into alcoholism.

Quite apart from the wonderfully and wittily observed mores and context of the time, this narrative takes us though a whistle stop tour of the musical and memorable events of the Twentieth Century, setting each scene as it does with a brief soundbite of the year.  Kim manages simple but very effective costume changes from showgirl 1930s to hippy 1970s with aplomb. 

All of this is created by the contrasting music and lyrics by Matthew Strachan, and the touching narrative by Bernie Gaughan.  Paul Crew accompanies with sensitivity and a real feeling for the different styles.  The overall effect is captivating as we see how Bill’s life mirrors the mid years of the Twentieth Century, its highs and lows, and changing culture.

All of this is achieved with the stunning and versatile performance of Kim Ismay who, chameleon like, absolutely inhabits all of these many faceted women with confidence and honesty.  I was impressed by her clear renditions of the many styles of song, but I loved the touching and genuine way in which she handled the spoken stories of the various women too.   Personally I found outspoken, but gentle giant, Aunty Dot’s bewilderment at her nephew’s talent, beautifully portrayed.  And I felt for the loneliness of lovelorn landlady, Gloria, who watched Bill take endless young ladies up to his bedroom all the while secretly wishing it was her.  The final scene as Sally stands at his grave imagining the life she never knew, was poignant.

All of the creatives involved in this, writer, music and lyricist, and Kim Ismay herself have wide and deserved West End success.  And the recently reinvented Tabard Theatre in Chiswick is bringing top class theatre to West London.  This production only cements all of these reputations.  At 75 minutes it’s an easy and engrossing watch and thoroughly enjoyed by the first night audience who gave it a standing ovation.  

Claire Alexander, August 2023

Photography by Anthony Sajdler