The Bar Du Depot is the setting for Bijou – A Cabaret of Secrets & Seduction. The moment you step through its portal from the friendly bar of the Depot Theatre Marrickville, you are transported to the Paris of the 1930’s, complete with cabaret style, dusky candle lit bistro tables and a piano man playing an ancient Beale upright. It truly feels authentic. This is the world of Chrissie Shaw’s Bijou, the elderly woman made famous in a series of unforgettable pictures by the French photographer Brassai.
Chrissie Shaw first saw Madame Bijou six years ago in a print of one of Brassai’s photographs. It inspired a research journey through the Paris of the late 19th and early 20th century that has culminated in her writing a show that is as historical as it is moving. As Chrissie Shaw steps into the spotlight at the Bar Du Depot, you get the feeling that she has lived it.
Alan Hicks, who stars alongside Bijou as her pianist, seems right at home. He sets the opening mood with a slightly melancholy repertoire featuring snippets of Debussy, Duparc, Hahn and Poulenc and cleverly conveys the world-weariness of Depression era Paris. It’s a prelude of things to come and it’s evident right from the start that Hicks is a master craftsman of his instrument. You want to hear more and he does not disappoint.
Much to the good-natured chagrin of Alan Hicks’ pianist, the old lady Bijou is a scene stealer. Chrissie Shaw masterfully engages the audience using direct contact that is both enjoyable and skillful enough to avoid embarrassment as she begins to weave her tale. She looks the part, the attention to detail by costume designer Victoria Warley in delivering a living portrait of this character is outstanding, and her unexpected rendition of a Charleston catapults the audience back into the roaring 20’s and is a great example of Shaw’s versatility as a performer.
What follows is impressive. Shaw tells Bijou’s tale, alternating between monologue and song. Her voice has the rasp of age, integral to the character she is playing, but is strong and expressive. Bijou’s story jumps between the decades from 1870 to 1933 as the character’s mind rambles through different periods of her life. Throughout the show the music has been cleverly selected and representative of each era.
At first Bijou’s story is a little hard to follow, meandering as it does non-consecutively through the decades of her life, but it quickly becomes apparent that Shaw, is a clever story teller and as she starts to pull the threads together, the true horror of Bijou’s early child hood and the repercussions it has on the rest of her life become clear.
Chrissie Shaw handles the musical repertoire more than capably, switching from ingénue to tired cabaret star with ease while juggling the lyrics in English, French and German. The really memorable musical moments come when Hicks lends his voice to hers, providing some truly beautiful harmonies as he portrays the in turns sympathetic and exasperated pianist - a clever foil for Shaw’s showmanship.
Bijou – A Cabaret of Secrets & Seduction is ultimately a story of survival that is everything from sordid and sad to funny. In writing and performing it, Shaw has combined myth with history and comes up trumps. Like so many others, you will fall in love with Madame Bijou.
Bijou: A Cabaret of Secrets & Seduction is on at Marrickville's Depot Theatre now until Saturday August 27th,
