Girl From The North Country - Review

It is the winter of 1934, and America is in the grip of the Great Depression. This can only mean that Girl From The North Country is on at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.

I have to say that I did not know much about this show except for one thing. That it featured the songs of Bob Dylan, a musical icon whose lyricism is impactful; politically, socially, and culturally. The stripped-back rendition of some of these songs brings a fittingly melancholy feel to the overall production.

Acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson has used the songbook of Bob Dylan to create a 30’s set Broadway show. The musical is set in Minnesota, (Dylan’s hometown) during the depression era where lost souls congregate in a run-down guest house, scrapping, drinking and aimlessly searching for love.

The musical features many characters: there's Dr Walker, known to the Laine family, owners of the guesthouse. They comprise of Nick and his wife Elizabeth, their son Gene and their adopted daughter, Marianne. Residents include Mr and Mrs Burke and their son Elias. Then there’s Reverend Marlowe, a Bible salesman, and boxer Joe Scott, besides a few other lost souls. My only criticism of this musical is that at times as multiple storylines were going on, the plot sometimes felt slow to move as it navigated everyone's journeys.

The cast is incredible at handling such delicate subject matters. The musical deals with issues that are especially prominent today, such as concerns about mental health - which are sincerely depicted by Elizabeth McNamee, money, race, and friendship in hard times. There is a heavy use of strong language which can at times be uncomfortable to hear but relevant to the story and helps the cast to bring truthfulness to their role. But in contrast to this, there were also some brilliant elements of comedic humour. I particularly liked when Mr Perry requested room temperature milk with Mrs Nielsen sarcastically saying, “Any particular room?”

One of my favourite performances was ‘Slow Train/License To Kill’, where the whole cast came together and showcased all their skills at once. Their acting, dancing and musical talents are all on display in this performance, with them all being involved in playing instruments and keeping the rhythm. It was a collaborative performance which was joyous to watch.

If you're a Bob Dylan fan, then you're going to love this production, as many of his songs are performed including, ‘I want you’, ‘Idiot wind’, ‘Make you feel my love’, and ‘Hurricane’ among many more. They are given a period feel twist, backed by instruments from the 1930s such as the piano, mandolin, violin, guitars, and double bass. They have managed to interweave the songs of Bob Dylan to create a sombre musical.

Girl from the North Country is on at the Alexandra Theatre Birmingham until Saturday 11th February and tickets can be found at the following link https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/girl-from-the-north-country/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/