Love in the Key of Britpop is an hour long tribute to mid-nineties British music and the turmoils of falling in love. The entire spoken word performance is presented as a grand poem by Australian self proclaimed Anglophile Emily Anderson.
Emily clearly has an absolute love of Britpop and effortlessly drops musical and cultural references throughout the duration of the show. You could say that Love in the Key of Britpop is well researched, but Emily’s words ring so true, no research was needed. You know that Emily lived the experiences and took the music to her heart. Emily also took a British backpacker to her heart and this is the back bone of the story. At a New Years party in 2005/2006 Emily meets the man of her dreams. He is English, good looking and most importantly loves Blur, Pulp, Oasis and a string of other indie bands.
Throughout the performance we follow Emily and her lover as they marry before his visa expires, undertake a visit England, return to Australia, fall out of love and divorce. The story is touching and more than a typical love story. It is a tale that presents what could have just been an affair with a backpacker, but this develops into a complex relationship that was unfortunately not build to last. What was built to last was Emily’s love affair with music.
References to Cast, Dodgy, The Boo Radleys, Carter USM add a total degree of authenticity but also make the show feel like it relies too much on nostalgia. However, nostalgia for the nineties is one of the major themes and the delivery is touching, authentic and engaging enough to draw you in to Emily’s world. The soundtrack to this world is nothing but Britpop classics and even though no music features in the act, we can almost hear echoes of Blur as she narrates her story.
Love in the Key of Britpop is definitely a unique show. The poetry can be seen as massive in scale and performed by a talented performer who is completely in love with the source material.
Love in the Key of Britpop
Fingers Piano Bar
Until Saturday 25th August
15.10
Free
www.loveinthekeyofbritpop.co.uk
@LoveKeyBritpop
@emmygrrl
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