ED2011 3/5 Reviews ED2011 Musical Reviews

Pollyanna Meets Piaf (Melissa Cloake)

By | Published on Wednesday 31 August 2011

Going to ‘Pollyanna Meets Piaf’ is the Fringe equivalent of eating chicken soup with an eccentric aunt. The show is the one woman song diary of Melissa Cloake, interspersed with narration and sometimes poems. Accompanied by a suitably robust pianist, Cloake’s bright singing voice suits her mostly self-composed anthology of almost 12 songs. Rarely self-indulgent, the piece focuses on Melissa’s journey from naïveté (referencing Eleanor Hodgman Porter’s optimistic heroine, Pollyanna) to a more savvy alter ego, personified in Edith Piaf. Cloake’s gentle sparrow-like stage presence and engaging demeanour make Piaf a perfect alter ego. So, do I regret going to see Melissa Cloake’s show? In the words of the French songstress herself, “Non, je ne regrette rien!”

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall, 5 – 13 Aug, times vary, £6.00 – £7.00, fpp231.
tw rating 3/5
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