Heads up – Girl From The North Country

Any theatre fans in London who are also Bobcats really should book tickets right now to this show at the Old Vic.
Bob has given playwright Conor McPherson free rein with his back catalogue, something he rarely does, and the writer has used it craft a truely stunning play set in Depression-era Duluth (Dylan’s birthplace, as I’m sure you know).
It’s a portmanteau piece about the inhabitants of a low-rent guesthouse, which each revealing their story, interspersed with with snippets and whole Dylan songs.
There’s huge cast with plenty of faces you’ll recognise including Ron Cook, Bonagh Gallagher, Ciaran Hands, and Jim Norton, and live band on stage, but the music never feels shoehorned into the story or there as a crowdpleaser.
I went to one of the very early performances on Wednesday, and it’s never been far from my thoughts since – it really is that good. I was lucky enough to win another pair of tickets to see it in a few weeks, and if I hadn’t I’d be handing over my bank details right now.
It’s not been reviewed yet, so the pros might disagree with me, but I go to the theatre a lot – I mean once-a-week-at-least a lot – and I don’t think I’ll see anything better this year. I’ll wager that once the reviews are in you won’t get a ticket for love nor money.
It’s going to win a bucketload of awards, and if Shirley Henderson doesn’t get all the garlands she’s due for this I’ll eat my leopard-skin pill-box hat.
I’ve just checked and there’s £10 preview tickets still on sale for Tuesday. You really should trust me – it’ll be a tenner really well spent.

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