Review written for Female Arts Magazine at the Edinburgh Festival fringe 2015.
An award winning singer, voice coach and lecturer, Wendy Carle Taylor takes us on a journey through the First World War using traditional and contemporary songs as the structure for her captivating show. From its beginnings in 1912, when dance hall singers wrote catchy and appealing recruitment songs, to its end in 1918 after which poems and works came about accurately portraying horrific events that transpired, the Great War is told to us through the eyes of soldiers, singers, poets and prostitutes all painting a vast picture of a very dark time in history.
Her beautiful renditions of war time songs in not only English but also French, German and Gaelic show the incredible range of knowledge that Wendy has on this subject. Her voice lends itself to these languages with great ease and I especially enjoyed the French tunes, the natural vibrato in her tone suits them so very well. Also an experienced story teller, Wendy is capable of bringing the whole audience to laughter as she recounts the soldiers dirty versions of popular songs and of course to silent tears when she discusses the all too well documented stories of life in the trenches.
Helping her bring the show to life are two incredible musicians, though from the atmosphere they create it’s hard to remember that there are only 3 instruments involved in whole show, guitar, banjo and piano. Sandy Butler is an extremely talented player in his own right, playing guitar in Scottish Folk 5 piece the Home Coming Band, he brings a wonderfully unique sound to the stage. Graham McDonald, a well-respected local piano teacher and admired performer, completes this triangle of talent with his beautifully expressed notes.
I think that this production was emotional for a lot of people in the room as the age range would suggest that many of them were the grandchildren of men and women who had been involved in the Great War. Indeed, Scottish poet Donald McDonald, his works born from the misery of the trenches, had two grandsons in the audience. Bruntsfield Evangelical Church is also a stunning venue, all be it with stereotypically uncomfortable church seats, set in a beautiful part of Edinburgh. This show being a tribute to the songs of the First World War, to the fallen soldiers and broken families left behind in its wake, a church seems a fitting place for their remembrance.
Wendy is only playing one more show during the Fringe on Saturday the 29th so I would highly recommend getting a ticket now to save disappointment!