Girl from the North Country – Gielgud Theatre, London

Katie Brayben in Girl from the North Country at the Gielgud Theatre, London. Picture: Cylla von Tiedemann

Girl from the North Country continues at the Gielgud Theatre until 1 February 2020.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

When it opened at The Old Vic in 2017 (transferring into the West End the following year), Conor McPherson’s tale of Depression-era Duluth, Minnesota was truly something very special.

Its use of music by the Duluth-born Bob Dylan was the principal draw, of course. The Nobel laureate’s music (primarily plucked from the 1970s and 1980s years of his extensive catalogue) has its feet firmly rooted in the American folk tradition, making his songs’ use to illuminate this story of the disparate souls struggling in a Minnesota boarding house the perfect blend of story and music.

And yet, as the production returns to the West End with a new cast, some of that original magic has dissipated. The actor-musician setup still impresses – many of the cast play musical instruments as well as sing, the sound rounded out by an onstage band of four musicians – and Rae Smith’s designs continue to fuel the sense of the piece being a work of art, as if Edward Hopper embraced the musical theatre form.

But for all that, there are the hints of a disconnect between cast and audience that, unlike the musical’s last West End visit, shine a light on the emotional manipulation at the heart of McPherson’s story. Several of the key actors’ performances feel like they are emulating the roles as played in the original run. Nowhere is this more in evidence than with the pivotal character of Elizabeth Laine, the boarding house landlady whose early onset dementia has reduced her to dependency on her husband (Donald Sage Mackay) and daughter (Gloria Abianyo).

Original Elizabeth Shirley Henderson forged a character that was a true force of nature, careening between destructive child and emotional savant like a human bagatelle. Katie Brayben’s more human portrayal helps to reveal how Elizabeth’s character varies depending on the need of each scene, at the expense of a sense of sympathy with her torment. Her rendition of ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, though, is a visceral performance that does its best to shred any misgivings about this production.

Elsewhere in the cast, it the supporting women who impress the most. Rachel John’s performance as a young widow who, while she awaits the resolution of her husband’s probate, dreams of running away with Mackay’s Nick to set up their own boarding house, has a welcome tenderness and vulnerability to her, as does Anna-Jane Casey as the mother of a boy with learning difficulties.

Despite all the difficulties this production has in replicating the magic of the original cast, there is no denying that orchestrator Simon Hale’s arrangements of Dylan’s songs are majestic, and remain Girl from the North Country’s crowning achievements. From 1970’s ‘Sign on the Window’ to the 2012 song ‘Duquesne Whistle’, the combination of Dylan’s Nobel-winning lyricism, the 1930s setting and more modern vocal stylings remain electric to listen to.

Scott Matthewman

Tickets for Girl from the North Country are available HERE.