A Woman On The Edge

Claire Dawson’s character Sisi - seen again in A Woman On The Edge - is a young, mad bag that everybody loves. In this Rod Anderson & Claire Dawson production at The Spiegeltent for the Tasmanian International Arts Festival (formerly 10 Days On The Island) Claire Dawson dominates the stage in a One-Woman-Plus show. Claire even appears as her own backing group in some amazing arrangements of old and new songs.

The collaboration of Rod Anderson and Claire Dawson first occurred with a show called Blitz, and demonstrates an effective performer/writers/director partnership. When Claire sings dances and acts up, to the max, in an energetic entertainment, she has an audience with her from the second she bursts on stage. Singing a fast paced comic song of desperation, "If" (a lesser known Liza Minelli song)Claire heads off on a crazy tale of her life as a misfit. The show is an interactive cabaret style where a loose story unfolds linking the various songs together.

The use of video and audio by Michael Gissing, with animation by Vivien Mason kept the pace rolling along, while Claire sang and played a variety of instruments. A rap song video written by Claire accompanied by her own backing group (various characters in lawn bowls outfits) was priceless.

The design and costumes by Yolanda Peart-Smith were lovely. It’s hard to tell who likes costume changes most – the performer or the designer, but the costume changes just kept coming. On this opening night there was a bit of a technical hiccup, mainly to do with microphones and a slight wardrobe malfunction, which will no doubt be ironed out in subsequent performances. It is hoped that the show will be brought back after the Festival engagements, as people complained that tickets were quickly sold out for the Hobart show. The show was well received by a partisan audience of “Claire/Sisi” fans and every face was smiling as the audience left the mirrored tent. Satisfying entertainment. 

Merlene Abbott