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REVIEW: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Everyman Theatre

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

By Jim Cartwright
The Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Tuesday, 12 July 2022

Rating: ★★★☆☆

1985, London. RADA common room. In one corner, Steve McFadden is practising his most menacing stare. In another, Lisa Tarbuck is singing a rude song to the tune of Stormy Weather: “Don’t know why / I’ve got lipstick on my thigh …”. Leaning languidly against the wall, Ralph Fiennes is observing his fellow students closely, storing their individual quirks in his mental Filofax. Alex Kingston is teasing out knots from her tangled mane. Jane Horrocks (of whom, more later) is doing an absolutely fabulous impression of Rochdale songbird Gracie Fields. Heidi Tucker, arguably the best actor in the room, is sitting next to Jane, quietly reading her script.

I’ve heard of all the others. But who’s this Heidi Tucker?

Many are called by the business of show, but few are chosen. Some lack the necessary talent, opportunity, drive, ruthlessness. Some take bad advice. Some ignore good advice. Some self-sabotage with booze and pills. Some decide they want kids, paid holidays and a mortgage. Some, such as timorous heroine Little Voice, are dragged reluctantly onto the stage, where they flap and gulp like a just-landed carp.

That’s all very well, but what about Heidi Tucker?

The genius of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (and, I suggest, the reason it is still being performed 30 years on) is that it embodies a profound truth: in falling, Little Voice actually rises. In borrowing others’ voices, she discovers her own. By rejecting the superficiality of showbiz, she remains free to express her authentic self. And, from the ruins of domestic catastrophe, she is offered the chance to build a better future.

Yes, but Heidi …?

At the top of the show, taciturn teenager Laura Hoff – also known as Little Voice or L.V. – and her widowed mother, Mari, are both failing to cope with their bereavement. Mari – too narcissistic to be a functional mother – seeks solace in booze-fuelled promiscuity. Little Voice, a borderline agoraphobe, keeps her father’s spirit alive by playing and singing along to his old records. He had an enthusiasm for iconic female vocalists – Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland – whose vocal styles his daughter captures with uncanny accuracy. Little Voice is ‘discovered’ by her mother’s new boyfriend, predatory talent manager Ray Say, who views her as his ticket to a better life. Wheels turn with tragic inevitability.

And Heidi?

Christina Bianco brings extraordinary vocal flexibility to the title role. She skilfully charts her character’s tormented journey from cowed Little Voice to defiant Laura. Her bravura performance in the scene where she is ‘possessed’ by her musical heroines is truly shocking. She is well supported by Shobna Gulati as Mari, who gives a compelling portrayal of a woman who knows-and-doesn’t-know that she’s circling the drain. Ian Kelsey is convincingly seedy as Ray, delivering his character’s callous climactic confession with plausible cruelty. Shobna Gulati’s son Akshay plays Laura’s ingenuous suitor, telephone-engineer-with-a-handy-climbing-frame Billy, as both literally and metaphorically a bringer of light, a beacon of goodness in a world of moral squalor. Fiona Mulvaney’s Sadie is the good-natured butt of much unkind verbal humour, and the vehicle for some gross-out physical comedy that, for me, marked the low point of the evening.

Heidi Tucker …?

This is a play with music, not a musical. Its humour is sometimes coarse, and its themes are dark and set in the ’90s, which some might find shocking. The portrayal of Sadie was, in my view, unsuccessful and would benefit from revision. As with many plays, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice could use some judicious pruning, with the second half outstaying its welcome by some 15 minutes. The play is set in an unspecified northern town, and as an ex-pat Wiganer I found the actors’ accents too broad, too generic and too ‘performed’. That said, this is an excellent production of a powerful play that remains relevant today.

Heidi …?

Jim Cartwright wrote The Rise and Fall of Little Voice as a vehicle for Jane Horrocks, who went on to become a household name. Heidi Tucker, who sat beside Jane that day in the RADA common room, was also an exceptionally talented performer. She too could have become one of the most celebrated actors of her generation. But she didn’t. I don’t know why. Perhaps she recognised that – as with Little Voice – having a talent for something doesn’t necessarily mean that you should pursue it.

You’ll have guessed that I too was in that common room in 1985. Whatever happened to me? Buy me a beer, and I’ll tell you a story …

Running time: 2½ hours (including interval)
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice runs at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, until Saturday 16 July 2022.