Piaf – Watermill Theatre, Bagnor

Audrey Brisson in Piaf at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor. Picture: Alex Brenner

Piaf continues at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor until 17 May 2025.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

My original introduction to Edith Piaf was through Pam Gems’ biographical play which was staged at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea in 1980. I was enthralled by this enigmatic French songbird, impassioned by her honest and powerful voice, saddened by the tragedy of her short desperate life and, as an impressionable teenager, shocked by her life choices. I even paid my respects at her grave in Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

It is a good move by the Watermill to bring back Audrey Brisson following her successful run in Amélie The Musical, not only at the Bagnor venue, but also at the Criterion in the West End. As a native French speaker, Brisson commands the language as she should, bringing a genuine delivery to the vocals. Her wide-eyed, fresh face contradicts the haggard reality of Piaf’s demise as the story unfolds. A wig and make-up that barely change jar against the physical frailty that Brisson employs as the narrative develops, even when making allowances for scenes that transport us from past to present.

Djavan van de Fliert is memorable as Marcel, one of Piaf’s true loves who dies in a plane crash, and Oliver Nazareth Aston gives a sympathetic performance as Theo Sarapo, 20 years her junior but with an earnest devotion that supports her in her final days.

At the heart of the story is the longevity of Piaf’s relationship with her best friend, Simone Berteaut (Toine), played with unreserved commitment by Tzarina-Nassor in her professional debut and Signe Larsson is commanding as Marlene Dietrich and compliant as Piaf’s secretary, Madeleine.

Sam Pay is imposing as nightclub owner Leplée with Hazel Monaghan as Louis, Jon Trenchard as the onstage musical director and Kit Kenneth as the onstage swing in a variety of supporting roles.

In Kimberley Sykes’ production the talented cast of actor-musicians weave in and out of Piaf’s life, portraying her multitude of lovers as well as the unsavoury characters that she is inevitably drawn to. At best the multi-instrumentalists maintain a Parisian feel to the whole piece, revealing their true potential in French street music by keeping the audience firmly grounded in the right time and place. At worst, the choreographed voyeurism lends a sardonic absurdity that detracts from the dramatic weight of some of the scenes and undermines the emotional connection that we have with the central protagonist.

But at the end of the day Piaf was her music and the raw emotion that she brought to her vocals and it is, without a doubt, a pleasure to hear the songs that made her legacy live on 60 years after her death.

Julie Watterston