Susan Boyle – The Musical

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JOYCE MCMILLAN on THE SUSAN BOYLE MUSICAL for Scotsman Arts Magazine, 29.3.12
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I KNEW there would be snobbery about it, says Elaine C. Smith, of her initial reluctance to become involved in the stage musical of Susan Boyle’s life; and she’s right, on two counts. First, because the story of Susan Boyle – of the talent show that discovered her, of the people who compete to appear on it, of the millions who watch it, and of the very songs Susan sings – is a story of British popular culture, largely ignored by our cultural and political elites, and often ridiculed when they do notice it.

And secondly, because in a world of theatre where large venues are now often dominated by “tribute musicals” of one kind or another – from the global mega-hit Mamma Mia to smaller masterpieces like the recent Ian Dury show Reasons To Be Cheerful – there is still widespread snobbery about a genre that is seen as making theatre secondary to other media, either to popular music itself, or to the broadcast and recorded media through which it finds its audience.

Yet a single look at a show like the new Susan Boyle musical I Dreamed A Dream – produced by Qdos pantomimes boss Michael Harrison, written jointly by Elaine C. Smith and Scottish panto genius Alan McHugh, and directed with flair by rising star Ed Curtis – is enough to demonstrate that genre doesn’t necessarily dictate quality. Elaine C. Smith says that she was never interested in a show that would “take the piss” out of Susan Boyle, or present a sugary version of her life; or in one that would just be “sing-a-long-a-Susan” – the music, she felt, would have to express something more than that.

And whatever critics and audiences finally make of I Dreamed A Dream, it’s hard to deny the boldness of the first-person narrative through which it gives Susan Boyle a voice, or its honesty about the tougher aspects of her life; about her dismissal as brain-damaged at birth, the tough economic and social circumstances of her West Lothian home town, the bullying she suffered at school, the limited life imposed on her even by her loving family, and the shocking and brutal coverage – particularly of her physical appearance – she received in the gutter press, following her first sensational success.

The show’s playlist of songs, too, is as unexpected as it is entertaining, capturing a whole history of popular music in Susan Boyle’s 50-year lifetime through songs like Janis Ian’s 17 and Tears for Fears’s Mad World, as well Dave Anderson’s beautiful Joy Is In The Child, and the more familiar SuBo anthems. And although Susan Boyle’s personal appearance at the end inevitably forms the show’s climax, Elaine C. Smith says it will have done its job if the audience are already on their feet and cheering, by that time.

“As I’ve said to Susan,” says Smith, “I’ve only got a tenth or a hundredth of her fame, and I still find it hard to cope with. To go from the Happy Valley karaoke in West Lothian to global celebrity, literally in a few minutes – well, I think she’s done an amazing job of coping with it. And I hope, in the end, we’ve produced a show about not judging a book by its cover. Because that’s what our culture does; and it’s so wrong, and the consequences can be horrific.”

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