Picture from everymanplayhouse.com

Originally published by L.S. Media. February 23rd 2011.

Cast: Lou Dalgleish, Michael Weston King, Gladstone Wilson.

We are all familiar with the idea with obsession, so much so that in a way we can all claim to have one, but what happens when the fixation takes over your life and takes you to places that should be well left alone. In the Everyman Theatre’s new season of productions They Call Her Natasha looks at this obsession from the point of a fan gripped with Liverpool raised musician Elvis Costello.

Singer Lou Dalgleish takes on the mantle of Natasha and her alter ego Elsie Costello and explores the fascinating world of Elvis’s songs and reinterprets them brilliantly, weaving them subtly around the tale of a women so obsessed with the creator of such songs as Oliver’s Army and Alison that she immerses herself into a female version of the man, playing clubs and adopting his mannerisms and even discarding her friends at the same time Elvis left the Attractions to go solo.

Lou Dalgleish’s vocal performance was nothing short of stunning and the audiences that go along to see this play will be treated to not only a fine expressive interpretation but also some stunning musicianship by Lou’s fellow performers Michael Weston King and pianist Gladstone Wilson. Both these fine musicians give the music that extra dimension that other plays may sadly lack.

Unusually for a performance about obsession and the breakdown of a friendship there is a positive outcome as the tensions that drive Elsie/Natasha and her lover and band mate come to an agreement on when Natasha is Elsie and when she is just herself. This positivity threads through the story well and it is a testament to the writing skills of both Lou and Michael that it stands up to the scrutiny and attention that has been delivered at its door.

Ian D. Hall