Confessions of a Justified Songwriter: 5 star review by Hannah Lucy Baker

By Hannah Lucy Baker
|
17th Aug 2016
|
★★★★★

Written by John and Gerry Kielty, Confessions of a Justified Songwriter takes us on a journey through the creative processes and struggles of writing music when chasing that elusive hit song. This eleven-strong cast from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland belt out this new musical with gusto and flair and create a truly engaging piece of modern musical theatre.

Are their song-writing ideas for sale to the highest bidder? Or will creative integrity win out?

The story begins with a pop princess comedically miming on stage. It doesn’t take long for her to threaten her three songwriters to come up it something new. They are clean out of ideas, or at least any that the demanding Vittoria is impressed by and so descend on a local songwriting class to look for inspiration. These enthusiastic students bring to the table their new ideas, some more successful than others, as the professionals help to steer them in the right direction. Through these musical workshops we learn more about the characters, why they are there and see them pushed to decide: are their song-writing ideas for sale to the highest bidder? Or will creative integrity win out?

From start to finish this musical is hugely engaging. The songs manage to tell the story and bring forward the characters, without losing any of their quality. The cast sing through it with massive amounts of vocal skill and at times magical blend of harmony and voices. The music feels fresh and the script is funny without trying too hard to be. Rachael Anderson is spectacular as the talented, if a little frazzled, lead songwriter, helping to not only bring the characters together but also flawlessly helping to link the whole show, becoming the thread of continuity throughout the piece. She is completely believable as someone with a ton of musical talent who is just at the end of her rope. Alice Robertson and Genevieve Clarke are also both a treat to watch and listen to.

This show is the perfect choice for this young bunch and from what I could tell they enjoy performing it as much as we all enjoyed watching it. For fans of new musical theatre writing, this is definitely one to get excited about.

Reviews by Hannah Lucy Baker

Greenside @ Nicolson Square

Red and The Wolf

★★★

The Edinburgh Academy

Spring Awakening

★★★★

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

The Rules Of Inflation

★★★★

Assembly Checkpoint

Confessions of a Justified Songwriter

★★★★★

Assembly Hall

9 to 5

★★★★

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★★★

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The Blurb

Writing hit songs is considered an art, but behind the scenes the creative process is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. A platinum album selling co-writer prepares to share some of his experiences with an enthusiastic bunch of wannabes who are dreaming of success. When their optimistic craft meets his illusion-shattering graft, the irresistible force of artistic spirit meets the unmovable object of industry deadlines, and the group is forced to ask if there is any room left in the industry for the artist, or if the industrial revolution has claimed another victim.