“If you think I’m doing the rest of this in French you’ve got another thing coming!”
I Can Die Too makes its world premiere at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, featuring a creative set and an interesting storyline: a play-within-a-play with musical numbers throughout. Written by Sally George and created during a development residency trip to Adelphi University on Long Island in 2019 by Frances Ruffelle and Alan Cumming, this insider look at a live tech rehearsal takes the stage just short of a decade after its creation.
Following a chaotic set of rehearsals and taking inspiration from La Voix Humaine, we meet our leading lady, Lily, played by Tony Award winner Frances Ruffelle, known for originating the role of Eponine in Les Mis for the West End and Broadway. Lily feels like her character is a mix of Bridget Jones meets Absolutely Fabulous when it comes to personality both on and “off” stage. We meet her trying to rehearse with mascara smeared across her face, struggling to do a French accent and find out later she usually needs a drink to cope with things throughout the rehearsal process. Ruffelle was a delight to watch on stage as Lily, bringing a wonderful comedic timing and also moments of softness; you couldn’t get enough.
The show has live music and songs throughout the show that feel very Madonna-natured, with the band featuring the very multi-talented cast: Stephen Ashfield, Melinda Orengo, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Maya Rugen and musical director Frew. This was a lovely choice, however confusing to follow along with due to the cast staying in the same costumes throughout, which led to thoughts of “why are the director and stage manager in the band?” as it felt you associated the costumes with the characters within the creative team.
The story itself is an interesting take on the theme of play in a play; however, at times it felt hard to follow the story, especially in the third act of the show. This mostly came down to the weaving of the production being rehearsed throughout the show and the story itself; sometimes it was hard to follow which storyline you were watching. On that note, it also felt hard to follow the plot with one particular character who is always around Lily off stage, but it’s not revealed who this character is or why she is there, often leading to times where it was hard to understand the context of the scenes (this is, however, from someone who needs to know what is happening at all times).
The set for the show is gorgeous and a brilliant use of space throughout as well; going into the show and not really knowing what to expect, I felt that this fitted well with the performance they were working towards. It was such a wonderful, creative sight to see and so well thought out. The songs throughout the show, as previously mentioned, were very fitting for the show. It felt as if they belonged there and didn’t feel out of place to help the flow of the piece along with some very catchy tunes at times as well. Again, the use of cast within the band was a brilliant addition to the show and a good choice.
Overall, if you fancy something a bit different than usual and a trip to Pitlochry this summer, then this show may be something that takes your interest. I Can Die Too runs until 2nd August. Tickets are available here.