And Then You Go - The Vali Myers Project

Victoria Falconer is a powerhouse composer, performer, musical director, and multi-instrumentalist who has conquered cabaret scenes in Australia and the UK plus multiple Fringe circuits, larger-scale productions including Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s acclaimed production of Once the Musical and Slingsby’s The Boy Who Talked To Dogs.  She has co-created and performed in award-winning Adelaide Fringe shows Fringe Wives Club’s Glittery Clittery and Smashed: The Brunch Party, and there are many more sparkling credits to her name.

And Then You Go – The Vali Myers Project was supported through the Frank Ford Commissioning Award, a valuable legacy courtesy of the beloved Cabaret Festival founder.  This is the premiere of the show inspired by the life of internationally celebrated Australian artist and personality Vali Myers (2 August 1930 - 12 February 2003) whose art is held in many world-renown public and private collections.

A lone and driven fourteen year old Vali moved to Melbourne to dance professionally, then boarded a ship to 1950’s Paris (and an opium addiction).  She crashed 1970’s New York and its Chelsea Hotel crowd, and nipped back and forth to her “kingdom by the sea” in Positano, Italy.  She said of the Paris years: “It was a rough and tough time… there was nothing romantic about it.  We didn’t hang out in the cafés because it was hip – we didn’t have anywhere else to go… dancing kept me alive. I saw so many of my friends die.” Myers crossed paths with numerous identities during her roaming: Tennessee Williams, Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin, Marianne Faithfull, Salvador Dali, Satre, Cocteau, Genet, Django Reinhardt, Andy Warhol, and Patti Smith, whose knee was allegedly tattooed by Vali.

The music for And Then You Go is all original, and most certainly the main attraction.  The work is co-composed by Falconer and musicians Jarrad Payne, Flik Freeman and Dylan Marshall.  The diverse and talented cast comprises Falconer, dancer/singer Erin Fowler, circus artist Jess Love, Punjabi Australian singer and dancer Parvyn Kaur Singh, Ronnie Taheny and Will Spartalis.  They play maybe twenty different instruments between them (including the saw) and one quickly loses track of who plays what, such is the marvel of them all switching between spoken word, playing and singing.

On entering The Space, we are greeted by the spectacle of the cast, including five different flame-haired Vali Myers figures, as they wander the two level performance area interacting with each other and the audience.  Slightly discordant, possibly recorded music is playing which eventually blends into a Glass-like minimalist rhythm as live instruments layer over the top.  Swirling primary coloured psychedelic lighting pools cover the space and Myers’ projected artwork is flashed up on the rear wall; this would have been a much better element if the projection area was larger, as it seemed less effective at the size it was.  The five redheaded figures merge to perform a haunting a Cappella piece and various striking songs follow using quotes from Myers as lyrical starting points. 

The compositions, the vocals and harmonies, the instrumental work and the beautifully crafted songs are absolutely the best elements of this show.  There are many layers of sound in some pieces with a hint of acid rock styling and other moments where the sound is delicate, hypnotic and soulful.  Each artist was truly gifted and it is always special to have talented musicians add their magic to live performance.

Falconer has said of this offering: “It’s a more creative exploration of who she (Myers) was and what her life is and what it means to be an artist...”.  And Then You Go is certainly creative, but ultimately a little underdone; the musical content is top notch but the theatrical and visual add-ons are more reminiscent of Fringe fare.  However carefully and skilfully the transitions were handled, the different elements still seemed a ‘grab-bag’ of visual and symbolic motifs that came across as naff or even token at times.  A beautiful, brief moment of Indian dance, a few half-hearted ‘coo-ee’ call and answer attempts with the audience; some over-long dance sequences that mimicked Isadora Duncan frippery, which were then bookended by (excellent) aerial rope work then the appearance of a fox puppet (from puppet designer Aidan Min) that was ‘cavorted’ about the space by a performer dressed as a man-fox.  It is possible to see where the inspiration for these elements arose through examination of Myers’ over-the-top life, but perhaps not all inclusions were essential. It was also difficult for the parade of elements to compete with the raw, ethereal beauty of the projected artworks and the superior quality of the music and sound.

At times, Vali Myers’ own unsophisticated, vulnerable recorded voice floats above the sound and vision as she comments on her life and philosophy.  She is an intriguing character much as this is an intriguing, inventive production.  With a little more refinement and a chance to have a longer run, And Then You Go – The Vali Myers Project reflects on a life lived to the full.  As the story goes, after spending time with Vali, Tennessee Williams was so taken with her originality and lust for life that he based the free-spirited character Carol, in his play ‘Orpheus Descending’, directly on her.

Lisa Lanzi

Photographer: Claudio Raschella