Now playing at the Libra Cafe for Camden Fringe, The Audition is a one-person play by Denise Alonzo, a piece about a aspiring opera singer who is Black.
Alonzo has a lovely, bright personality and her rendering of snatches of Bach, Mozart and Purcell are a treat to hear.
Her voiceovers and dialogue about the limited roles (few, and tragic) available to singers of colour are pointed and realistic. As Alonzo says, “who cares if Dido was black, white, or brown?”
Tonally, The Audition shifts a lot across its runtime. A scene with an ‘AI vocal aid’ aka one of those little animals that records and plays back your voice, but in a higher tone is hilarious.
Two scenes around arriving for auditions feel weaker and undeveloped, and required too long to set up from a stage management perspective. Better, perhaps, to use lighting to focus our attention on the closed door.
The little star hamster steals the show when she’s switched on, but even that device has a relevance that becomes clear at the end.
I liked the idea of The Audition, and it has a lot of potential for further expansion. Perhaps the audition judges could be given voiceovers? More could be said about cultural invisibility in the arts.
I enjoyed the set design with window seat, chair and music stand. One moment of the singer being overpowered by the music score is startling and well-conveyed.
A brief use of a mask is also inspired – the ‘tragic clown’ – and could be further expanded within the character arc and her audition routine.
By tightening up the scene changes the show will have more room to focus on the plot, vocal improvisation, and dialogue.
There’s a good 80 minute play in here to build on Alonzo’s writing and performing skills.
At the moment I’m giving it 2.5 stars. There’s much to appreciate and enjoy but I felt it wasn’t quite there yet.
The Audition has one more performance this afternoon. Tickets here.