FringeReview UK 2024
Just For One Day
Old Vic
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Live Music, Mainstream Theatre, Musical Theatre, New Writing, Political, Theatre
Venue: Old Vic, The Cut Waterloo
Festival: FringeReview UK
Low Down
Does happiness write blank cheques? In an age rightly deriding white saviours John O’Farrell’s Just For One Day which takes its title from David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ walks a tightrope between nostalgia and superior jukebox musical, and docudrama: we know LiveAid happened. Directed by Luke Sheppard it arrives at the Old Vic till March 30th.
Despite history’s caveats, O’Farrell’s core message isn’t about white saviours or pop stars but how ordinary people unite to change things. We saw glimpses of that in the pandemic, despite the government, or heady days when politics enthused (when it was decided by some it must never happen again). And all the TV fund-raising since. Just for a few hours, perhaps, we can believe in that.
Musicians Patrick Hurley, Rachel Murphy, Nathaniel Adamson, Joe Evans, Matt Isaac, Kobi Pham
Book John O’Farrell, Directed by Luke Sheppard, Musical Supervision, Arrangement & Orchestration Matthew Brind, Choreography Ebony Molina,
Designer Soutra Gilmour, Costume Fay Fullerton, Lighting Howard Hudson, Sound Gareth Owen, Video & Animation Andrzej Goulding, Casting Stuart Burt, CDG, Musical Director Patrick Hurley, Voice Coach Charlie Hughes De’Aeth,
Assistant Directors Sara Aniqah Malik, Toby Murray, Associate Choreography Gemma Payne, Associate Set Rachel Wingate, Props Supervisor Marcus Hall Props, Costumer Supervisor Laura Hunt, Wigs Hair and Make-up Suzy Barrett, Associate Sound Andy Green, Music Technology Jack Hopkins, Assistant Musical Director Rachel Murphy
Stage Management David Curl, Sam Rixon, Izzy Circou, Rai Daya, Lily Wanqaio Li
Till March 30th
Review
Does happiness write blank cheques? In an age rightly deriding white saviours John O’Farrell’s Just For One Day, which takes its title from David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, walks a tightrope between nostalgia and superior jukebox musical, and docudrama: we know LiveAid happened. Directed by Luke Sheppard it arrives at the Old Vic till March 30th.
It’s surely worth seeing for the blaze of vocal talent, musicality and stadium-sonic blast on display, with musicians led by Patrick Hurley. Hemmed in by crimped classics and cast-iron history that’s generally well-known, O’Farrell’s storytelling is necessarily simple. But then it’s about how talking is irrelevant against the fierce joy of the moment.
How can this seminal day – which certainly has its detractors – be relevant now? O’Farrell’s answer is above all this soaring arc of music-making. But it’s also threading four storylines.
They’re a bit threadbare too, sentimental but appealing. They start with someone who was there at 18 – the Suzanne of 2024 (the excellent Jackie Clune) tells Z-Gen Jemma (Naomi Katiyo, allowed quizzical doubts) how she was.
Her earlier self’s Suzanne 1985 (an exuberant Hope Kenna) with an irritated crush on cynical record store worker Tim (eye-rolling but smitten Joe Edgar). Suzanne though turns into the record-breaking (as it were) seller of Band Aid singles; and thus meets terminally irritated Bob Geldof (Carige Els) who bestrides this production.
Elsewhere Geldof meets Amara (Abiona Omonua) the relief worker whose doubts over Band Aid casts shadows to virtue-signalling. Almost carving 3D outrage onto a 2D depiction, Omonua’s allowed some agency, chiming with Katiyo’s similar questions nearly 40 years on.
Necessarily ‘ordinary’ people behind scenes are lent voices – tech supervisor Jim (Ashley Campbell) and fixer Marsha (Danielle Steers) whose magnificence in putting down Geldof is a moment to cheer. They’re on equally magnificent form as singers and pursue a thread of their own.
Drawn into his own narrative, Els bounces off long-suffering Midge Ure (Jack Shalloo) and dragged-kicking-and-screaming producer Harvey Goldsmith (Joel Montague). Els has to dominate and strut as Geldof did.
Mercifully not every cliché of the period descends (egregious ones uttered by a bishop or three). And in fact O’Farrell has Els state several times Geldof never said “just give us the fooking money” but of course fs this in. The storyline here is first reluctance to go over the past (with Suzanne), then naturally pitfalls, lies to every other pop star as to who’s already said “yes”, near-pull-outs and mordantly comic run-ins with Margaret Thatcher (the uproarious Julie Atherton) who after a couple of duets (“Mrs T” “Mr G” ) gets to belt out ‘I’m Still Standing’.
Els deliciously characterises a real sliver of Geldof and mentions “Paula” who started it, though not her fate. Els semaphores reflection, doubting at various points if “we did enough… or “if ‘everything we did was for nothing”; and if ”every generation is doomed to fail”. The tone of this work doesn’t allow us to pursue that for long. It’s just too feelgood, too celebratory. And even at two hours 35, too crowding out of much save superb music-making.
It’s aided by Soutra Gilmour’s simple staging where its very few props never get in the way of Andrzej Goulding’s spectacular video and animation; which in a flick sears a blinding African dawn through to a fuzzy simulacra of a TV monitor as diaphanous screens occasionally mask performers. Howard Hudson’s lighting synchs here in seamless tableaux. Fay Fullerton’s costumes though tweak 1980s styles into something transcendent.
In a blistering musical shorthand we do “relive the day when music brought the world together” as we’re also treated to a few neat moments of gender-fluidity in Bob Dylan, with Bowie’s David (Jason Battersby), every famous name and how they were persuaded. Highlights include The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ (sounds now like a stalker’s anthem), and ‘Message In A Bottle’; and Genesis’s ‘Something In the Air Tonight’, with dizzying performances.
Phil Collins’ jetting between two shows reminds us the US staged a simultaneous version, referring to the ’second’ one in London. O’Farrell does though telegraph the sheer logistical enormity of Geldof’s challenge; and the ballsiness with which he and others overcame it.
Other than those mentioned there’s standouts from John (Olly Dobson), Bernie (Jo Foster), Maria (Collette Guitart), Khalil (James Hameed), Skye (Freddie Love), Ellie (Emily Ooi), Alicia (Tamara Tare), Roger (Rhys Wilkinson) There’s supporting moments too from Adwoa (Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong), Bella (Kerry Enright), Kai (A J Lewis), Paige (Rachel Moran), Malcom (Dyd Wynford) and Eddie Mann.
Geldof’s ruminations – “History never ends”, or that Live Aid’s shadowed his life for “40 fucking years”. or “pop stars cannot eliminate poverty” might seem truths tremendous but trite. But they’re not less true. The problem is that today’s Jemma would ask how on earth you’d even get aid into Afghanistan, Ukraine or Gaza. What Geldof faced is as nothing to wars and global warming: O’Farrell can’t quite let Jemma ask what in truth she would.
We still need reminding of this though, and doubtless it’ll transfer to keep on nagging. Since despite history’s caveats, O’Farrell’s core message isn’t about white saviours or pop stars but how ordinary people unite to break up the ground of political necessity. We saw glimpses of that in the pandemic, despite the government, or heady days when politics enthused (when it was decided by some it must never happen again). And all the TV fund-raising since. Just for a few hours, perhaps, we can believe in that.
