Frances Ruffelle and the cast of I Can Die Too at Pitlochry Festival theatre deliver a set of vibrant pop songs, but the show struggles to bring its actor's tale to life. The West End and Broadway star has assembled a decent collection of original songs, written by a dozen songwriters and brightly arranged by musical director Frew. With influences from Cyndi Lauper, Britney Spears, and Ultravox, the music features torch songs and synth ballads, backed by cello, violin, keys, and drums. Ruffelle performs with good judgment, knowing when to add a hip swing or soft-shoe shuffle.
Underwritten Drama Fails to Engage
However, I Can Die Too is not a cabaret show, though its categorization is unclear. Credited to Ruffelle, Sally George, and Pitlochry's artistic director Alan Cumming, it follows an actor named Lily rehearsing a stage performance of Jean Cocteau's La Voix Humaine. In that 1930 monologue, a woman spends an anxious night phoning a lover on the eve of his marriage. In this version, Lily repeatedly breaks off from a script she finds too fatalistic to share reminiscences from her own love life—a lost teenage sweetheart, an overpowering boyfriend, a child adopted—none of it out of the ordinary.
Unconvincing Backstage Drama
Lily's state of mind cues the songs, played by five musicians who also double as the sketchily drawn backstage crew. Lily is portrayed as a boozy narcissist who infuriates her colleagues, but the play is so underwritten it is hard to distinguish between the fictional actor and the character she is playing. The only action on stage is the unconvincing squabbling between Lily and her director James, played by Stephen Ashfield. Everything else happens elsewhere at a different time, remote and undramatic. Belatedly, a sentimental mother-daughter reunion emerges, but too late to invest in it.
Ambitious but Flawed Production
Bill Buckhurst's production is a well-resourced studio show that looks as if it has ambitions for a longer life. According to the review, it will take more than good songs to carry it. I Can Die Too runs at Pitlochry Festival theatre until 2 August.
