Dietrich: Natural Duty continues at The Vaults, London until 28 January. The production is part of VAULT 2018.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Legend has it that when Marlene Dietrich appeared at the Wolverhampton Grand in 1966, she took a broom to the stage each night, sweeping the boards to ensure her white fur coat wasn’t soiled. This visual metaphor – of a Hollywood legend in a tight, shimmering silvery dress sweeping the floor – is one of the more striking images re-created by drag queen Peter Groom in Dietrich: Natural Duty at the Vault in Waterloo.
This new cabaret-style one-(wo)man show is German-born Dietrich’s recounting of her contribution to the war effort as a newly sworn-in US citizen.
It’s peppered with wartime favourites – ‘I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby’, ‘You’re the Cream in my Coffee’ and, of course, the German love song ‘Lili Marleen’, beloved of troops on both sides of the war.
The setting couldn’t be better. The damp brick arch that naturally forms The Pit gives the impression of a Second World War bunker. It takes very little imagination to place yourself in the midst of the war, watching a Hollywood icon roughing it with the boys to bring a little light and glamour into their lives. Was that the rumbling of the Bakerloo line or the Blitz?
Immaculately made up to look like the Berlin-born actress, Groom focuses on the innate sense of duty that Dietrich had – to her acting contracts and career, to her fans, to her sense of morality and ultimately to her new homeland. If, like me, you knew little of Dietrich’s wartime efforts, this will be an enlightening experience. It’s certainly a compelling story that holds your attention fully for the hour-long show.
The androgynous Dietrich is well served by Groom, whose channelling of the actress is respectful and deferential. While some drag-queen characterisations border on the grotesque, Groom clearly has his own sense of duty to Dietrich, portraying her with grace and a lightness of touch.
Indeed, for my money, Groom’s re-creation can’t be faulted. She’s blessed with a slim figure and high cheekbones, at their razor-sharpest when she draws deeply on the cigarettes she smokes throughout.
Combined with the gold-glittered tresses, the Max Factored face, the figure-hugging shimmering dress and tight spotlight – re-creating Dietrich’s look from, I think, her unforgettable TV appearance filmed at the New London Theatre in 1972 – Groom is every inch the Teutonic icon.
He nails the unmistakable musical lilt of her voice, too – the “sound of a caress” and the “crack of a whip”, as Jean Cocteau described it, perfectly capturing Dietrich’s intriguing duality. He’s also armed with a powerful but controlled singing voice and wields it with great effect, wringing emotion from the songs without overdoing the pathos.
The script, by Groom and co-writer Oliver Gully, somewhat labours Dietrich’s slavishness to duty – we get it – but it’s otherwise an intelligent, witty book with some nice comic touches. There’s no band or pianist – Groom sings along to backing tracks – but this in no way detracts from the drama of the show. Bethany Pitts offers the lightest of directorial touches.
The show ends with Dietrich’s most famous number, ‘Falling in Love Again’”, which itself closes with the line: “I can’t help it” – the ultimate summation of this fascinating character’s sense of duty and self. Don’t miss it.
Craig Glenday
www.vaultfestival.com/whats-on/dietrich-natural-duty/
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