All These Pretty Things (Camden Fringe), Review
Written by Amelia for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
When life beats you down, what does it take to get back up again? All These Pretty Things is a musical memoir about fighting back and rising up against all odds. Tracey Yarad’s true story serves as the heartbreaking yet uplifting narrative for this piece, taking the audience on a journey across the world and her heart.
The small Etcetera Theatre is the perfect place for this performance, allowing Tracey to bare her soul for all to see and the themes of the piece to really sink in. An Australian-born performer, Tracey Yarad has extensive music experience, having graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and touring Australia, South East Asia and Europe with her music. She then ran a music academy for 20 years, where a lot of the piece takes place, before heading to New York City. The story takes us on the journey of how she met her then-husband, and what led to him ultimately leaving her for their goddaughter, who they had practically raised since she was 7, may I add! Turmoil and heartbreak ensued when she was left with an empty house, both physically and metaphorically, and we follow her as she rediscovers herself in the Big Apple itself.
The piece is accompanied by several songs that add to the narrative and provide more context on the goings-on. Sometimes the songs are a little disjointed and could benefit from some fine-tuning to ensure they are cohesive and slot into the performance smoother, but the vibe of each song was perfect, and it was all played by Tracey on the piano, which was impressive. Jazz vocalist and songwriter Tessa Souter has joined forces with Tracey to write the book and direct the piece in her directorial debut. The show is concise and structured well, but could use a more prominent ‘wow moment’ or pivotal standout. It fits the small theatre well and takes up the necessary space; I’m not sure it would carry well in too big of an environment, as a lot of the highlights come from the intimacy.
The lighting and set are simple but effective, with a projection of images and videos on a screen at the back of the stage. This gives great insight into the authenticity of the piece, with real life images of her house and journey being shown. Sometimes the images could be used more interestingly, and the projections are very basic, I think using PowerPoint, which is completely fine for the venue, but if there were to be further life in the piece, it would be great to see this enhanced. There’s a lot of heart in the piece, which is projected by Tracey’s genuine work and natural presence on the stage. I can see this being enjoyed by different audiences and would recommend it for anyone who’s found or finding themselves. There’s something so powerful about knowing who you are on your own and having the ability to just be yourself, and this piece is a true reflection of that.
All These Pretty Things is part of Camden Fringe and plays at the Etcetera Theatre on the 30th and 31st of July.
★ ★ ★
