Girl From The North Country at The Alexandra, Birmingham - Review

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Tue 07 Feb 2023 - Sat 11 Feb 2023

This award-winning production received a huge welcome from the audience on its opening night at The Alexandra in Birmingham, the latest port of call on a tour that began in Dublin last June. The many performances around the country has honed the show to perfection, with every cast member contributing to a presentation that runs like a well-oiled machine.



Girl From The North Country is set in a boarding house in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1934, the height of the Great Depression. We meet the owners, their families and various boarders and residents who drift in and out of the premises. As this is the Great Depression, there is much talk of poverty, bankruptcy, foreclosures and general misery! Those hoping for an evening of joy and laughter will be disappointed.

Instead, we are offered much to think about by Irish playwright and director Conor McPherson , famed for his plays The Night Alive, Shining City and The Seafarer. As well as economic woes, Girl From The North Country considers racism, crime, dementia and domestic and sexual abuse. Heavy stuff but what makes this production special is its use of the songs of Bob Dylan .



Twenty Dylan tracks are included, dating from the sixties (Like A Rolling Stone, I Want You, Girl From The North Country) to 2012’s Duquesne Whistle. In between are gems like 1983’s Jokerman, 1979’s Slow Train and 1974’s Forever Young. They are musically arranged in a way that emphasises the power and beauty of Dylan’s poetry, and many are given an Americana feel by the on-stage band The Howlin’ Winds (Andrew Corcoran, Ruth Elder, Felix Stickland and Ed McFarlane). The music complements, reflects and adds texture to the various storylines being woven by the disparate group of characters.

There are stand-out performances from Colin Connor, as boarding house owner Nick Laine, and Frances McNamee, as his wife Elizabeth, who seems to have some form of dementia but also appears to be battling other demons. I was also impressed by Eli James, as the Rev Marlowe who claims to a bible salesman (but probably is not), and Ross Carswell, making his professional debut and wowing the crowds with a stunning medley in the second act.

So, when is a ‘jukebox musical’ not a ‘jukebox musical’? See Girl From The North Country and find out.

Girl From The North Country is at The Alexandra, Birmingham, till February 11, 2023. It can then be seen at Belfast's Grand Opera House (Feb 14 - 18), Aberdeen's His Majesty's Theatre (Feb 21 - 25), Theatre Royal, Norwich (Feb 28 - Mar 4), Leicester Curve (Mar 7-11) and New Wimbledon Theatre (Mar 14 - 18).

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