Who’s ever heard of a country singer from Glasgow? Wild Rose ensures its audience will leave the Royal Lyceum with the name of at least one Glaswegian country star on their lips, even if Rose-Lynn Harlan is the fictional creation of writer Nicole Taylor. Based on the hit film of the same name which starred Jessie Buckley in the title role, Wild Rose is a story of frustrated ambition and making a place for yourself in the world, even if that place seems an unlikely one.
Dawn Sievewright plays dynamo Rose-Lynn, a tearaway Glasgow girl with two kids, a powerhouse country music voice and a desperation to escape the west coast of Scotland and make it big in Music City – Nashville, Tennessee. Her passion for country music, and feeling of displacement at home, blinds her to her loving but frustrated family and the opportunities that lie right on her doorstep. It takes the intervention of BBC Radio 2 DJ ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris to open her eyes, to realise that instead of covering American hits, she can use country music to say something meaningful about her Glasgow home.
A musical about a would-be Glaswegian country star stands or falls on its songs, and happily Wild Rose hits all the right notes in this regard. From recent country smashes like Outlaw State of Mind to The Chicks’ razor sharp Goodbye Earl and Glasgow (No Place Like Home), which was written for the film, the music drives the production along with foot-stomping verve.
Rose-Lynn is a difficult character to get right, frequently selfish, maddening and sometimes downright unlikeable. Sievewright mostly does a good job of letting us see the frustration, fragility and vulnerability below the brash exterior, but sometimes struggles to strike a satisfying balance.
Musically, she barely puts a foot wrong, moving smoothly between belting out audience-rousing crescendos and more soulful numbers, as she realises how her selfish behaviour impacts her children (played by different actors on different nights) and long-suffering mother (Blythe Duff). Sievewright is well backed-up by the rest of the cast, whether providing a line-dancing chorus or soloing themselves.
Duff is excellent as her mother, doling out a seemingly endless succession of last chances and nursing frustrated ambition of her own. Susannah, Rose-Lynn’s employer and privileged benefactor whose life is not so fulfilled as it might look, is brought vividly to life by Janet Kumah’s nuanced and multi-faceted performance, as she tries to live vicariously through Rose-Lynn. Lily Ferguson makes for a brilliantly brittle daughter, icy and bitter after being let down too many times by her mother. Some of the cast maybe play for laughs a little too hard, with the wittiest and sharpest lines often being the most understated.
At first glance, Chloe Lamford’s set seems almost disappointingly basic – bare wooden boards in front of a digital backdrop that changes with the location. However, it’s a simplicity that comes alive with the clever use of a few pieces of furniture or a kitchen island rising from the stage, transporting us effortlessly from place to place. The eye is drawn to the live band arrayed at the back of the stage, who crash out the numbers with infectious glee. Like Rose-Lynn, Wild Rose is not quite perfect, but it does put on one hell of a show.
Performed at The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Runs until Saturday 19 April, Tuesday-Saturday 19:30, Wednesdays and Saturdays 14:30, some Sundays 17:00
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, including interval
Written by Nicole Taylor
Directed by John Tiffany
Set Designer: Chloe Lamford
Sound Designer: Tony Gayle
Lighting Designer: Jessica Hung Han Yun
Costume Designer: Katrina Lindsay
Cast includes: Blythe Duff, Janet Kumah, Louise McCarthy, Dawn Sievewright