Geoffrey Hyland: “KISSED BY BREL is a journey into the heart of Jacques Brel”

South African performer Claire Watling makes her UK debut, bringing her unique talents to London in the award winning show KISSED BY BREL, a new theatrical cabaret, celebrating Brel’s timeless relevance and enduring passions. KISSED BY BREL runs at Jermyn Street Theatre for a limited London season from 21 July until 9 August.

A long-time standard of cabaret artists, South African performer Claire Watling is probably one of the few women in the world to perform a whole show of Brel classics.
 
Claire Watling, with Godfrey Johnson (pianist and musical arrangement) bring an edge to a show that pays homage to the original while offering a fresh and contemporary perspective. The show is a diverse blend of musical styles and, with raw human emotion, each piece tells a story examining themes of love, war, adventure, broken dreams, being young, growing old and death...but never forgetting that life, with all its tragedies and complexities, shows us much humour.
 
The show has been performed in South Africa to rave reviews and has received 3 Fleur du Cap Awards after its performances in 2007. It is directed by renowned director Geoffrey Hyland, who tells us more details about this singular production.

HOW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE KISSED BY BREL? WHAT WILL AUDIENCE FIND AT JERMYN THEATRE?
KISSED BY BREL is a journey into the heart of Jacques Brel. 30 years after his death the romantic lyricism of Jacques Brel’s songs has not lost the power to send shivers down the spine. Described as poetic as Bob Dylan, as introspective as John Lennon and as virile as Bruce Springsteen, Brel’s acute perception made him an innovative and creative painter of daily life with rare poetic ease.
Jermyn Street Theatre offers the audience and performers a wonderful warmth and intimacy. There is a compelling immediacy to any work performed here.

WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO FOCUS A SHOW IN JACQUES BREL? WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST OF HIM?
Brel’s songs have a rich and penetrating insight into what it means to live and love. He has a unique way of putting his finger on the pulse of a particular experience and through words and music (especially words) he evokes the essence of that experience. As you listen to one of his songs you say, “Yes, that is what it is or was like!” Through the simplicity of his poetry he stirs up the heart of a lived event and that stirring is both passionate and deeply felt.

HOW DID YOU MAKE THE SELECTION OF THE SONGS?
We listened to a lot of Brel. His songs run the gamut of human experience from the comic and satirical to the deeply lived. There is a rich and varied palette of expression. We picked those songs that spoke to us and then arranged those to provide ever-shifting moods. The show could be said to move from innocence to experience.

BREL SONGS HAVE BEEN SUNG BY GREAT ARTISTS SUCH AS NINA SIMONE, DAVID BOWIE, MARLENE DIETRICH, SHIRLEY BASSEY, ETC. HAVE YOU BEEN INSPIRED IN ANY WAY BY THESE SINGERS? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE SONGS OF JACQUES BREL?
Certainly we found tremendous inspiration in the range of interpretations we encountered but our intention was never to imitate. Any artist brings to bear on the original work their own insight and experience. In any song we searched deeply for those points of connection between Brel and ourselves. Claire and Godfrey bring a certain polished and pared down style that allows the insightful and raw humanity to speak.

WHAT DOES IT MEANT TO YOU OPENING THIS SHOW AT THE JERMYN STREET THEATRE?
It is an honour (and a dream come true) to be invited to showcase our work in one of the world’s great theatre centres.

THE SHOW PREMIERED IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 2007 TO RAVE REVIEWS. HOW DID YOU LIVE THE SUCCESS OF THE SHOW IN YOUR COUNTRY?
The success of the show caught us somewhat by surprise. It was only going to run for 10 performances in a small theatre. As theatre artists we were just exploring something we felt passionate about, trying to give contemporary form to Brel’s work and make it sing again. It seems we struck a chord with audiences and the show has been revived several times over the last 2 ½ years and played in some of the bigger theatres in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM LONDON AUDIENCES?
This is probably the great unknown for us. Of course we are both excited and not a little nervous! We can only offer our unique contemporary interpretation of Brel in the hope that discerning London audiences will find it compelling, lyrical and moving.

ARE YOU WORKING ON OTHER PROJECTS?
Geoffrey is directing Claire (and 2 other actors) in Howard Barker’s JUDITH: A PARTING FROM THE BODY as part of the Howard Barker 21 for 21 International Festival that is occurring world-wide in October.
Godfrey is still touring his successful cabaret FLIRTING WITH COWARD.