Daniel Donskoy performed his show A Song Goes Round the World at the St James Theatre Studio, London
A Song Goes Round the World at the St James Theatre Studio. London.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
This cabaret takes its patrons on a musical journey through 20th century European chansons and offers a chance, as the European continent seems to be drifting apart, for an audience to be reunited through music.
The show has been developed and performed by Daniel Donskoy who was born in Russia, but left when he was six months old to be brought up in East Berlin. His subsequent travels have enabled him to introduce a programme of German, Yiddish, French and Russian chansons in their original languages. Throughout he is accompanied on piano by Inga Davis-Rutter with backing from Richard Burden on drums and bassist, Jeremy Longley.
He opens the German section with ‘Ein Lied geht um die Welt’ – a song that gives the cabaret its title –followed up with a couple of lighter numbers: Veronika, a jaunty song, talking of spring and a little girl who is loved by everyone, and a comic piece titled ‘My Little Green Cactus’.
‘In Dieser Stadt (’In this City’) – made popular by actress and chanteuse Hildegard Knef – recalls memories of her hometown. For this, the trio adds a jazzy accompaniment.
The Yiddish segment mixes the tragedy of shattered Polish life with the comedy of a drunken Rabbi based on ‘Old King Cole’, a joyful number that has the audience clapping along.
It also contains the well-known ‘A Yiddishe Mame’ & ‘Bei Mir Bistu Shein’. The latter comes from a Jewish musical which the composer and the lyricist sold for $30, only for it later to earn millions when taken up by The Andrews Sisters.
The first half concludes with a piano solo from Davis-Rutter – Variations on ‘El Vito’, a Spanish folk dance, that dazzles with some amazing keyboard fireworks.
The second half opens with four numbers associated with Edith Piaf. Special guest Jackie Marks gives a full showbusiness rendering of ‘La Vie En Rose’ and ‘Je Ne Regrette Rien’ whilst Donskoy delivers the more delicate ‘Hymne A L’amour’ and ‘Sous Le Ciel De Paris’.
Russia is the last stop of this musical odyssey and includes the songs ‘Orchy Chernye’ and ‘Dorogoi Dlinnoyu’ (known to us as ‘Dark Eyes’ and ‘Those Were The Days My Friend’). A touch of plagiarism here surely but it gets the audience joining in with the English lyrics.
This rousing participation continues in the encore when Marks returns and joins Donskoy in the English version of ‘Bei Mir Bistu Shein’.
Donskoy possesses a fine baritone voice, an energetic personality and an easy way of engaging with his listeners both in song and with his introductions and his family anecdotes.
A fascinating and enjoyable cabaret, although it may be one that has a limited appeal.
Barrie Jerram
www.collaborativeartists.co.uk
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