Melbourne Cabaret Festival: Another Day

Aside from running the Globe Cafe in Prahran, Josh Levy’s talents run to playing piano and writing songs. Using these skills in his show with singer and sometime violinist Fem Belling, Another Day: The Songs of Josh Levy suggests that Levy might soon make a contribution to the world of musical theatre.

Belling’s bright vocal performance and the general quality of the songs are strong positive features of the show. From its overall shape, it seems to have a number of tunes that would fit together as a song cycle. However, sometimes the show leans more on the banter between Belling and Levy, giving it something of a confessional feel, but we only get hints about the performers and their relationship. As Levy has done the hard work in assembling the material, it will be interesting to see if a natural structure arises from the elements.

Many of Levy’s numbers are love songs, however they tend to have more creative lyrics than a good number of show tunes. The Cab Fest guide described the show as one to “reflect the different facets of who we think we are, who we would rather be, or who we could become if given the chance (or a little imagination).” This is a tantalising prospect, and I would like to see some more development of this theme. For me, Levy’s most appealing creations are when he breaks from the soppy stuff with innovations such as “Every Girl Needs a Gay” and a tune describing Christmas for a Jew.

Many of the songs had a good level of polish, and were well received by the audience. With the right packaging and direction, I expect good things from the next Belling and Levy collaboration.