BEHIND THE SCENES: Northern Line - Sneak Preview

As I mentioned in the last production blog, our reading cancellation has thrown a rather large spanner into our development works. The upside, however, is getting to premiere two of the translations at our upcoming cabaret "I Hate Love."

"I Hate Love" came from an interesting place: I'm single. I hate the fact that couples and romance and the idea that if you aren't in a relationship you're worthless is thrown into my face for six weeks following New Year's. I hate that the restaurants stick their prices up, that it's impossible to get a show discount, and so on. And, putting my money where my mouth is, "I Hate Love" is a show with songs about break-ups, divorces, and ultimately, at its core, a desire for something more than the superficiality hyped by chick flicks and advert agencies. It's also a look at different types of love - and by extension hate.

So with that in mind, let's look at the "Northern Line" material that's made its way into the setlist.

Choosing two songs about bad relationships was actually something of a challenge: not because there weren't any, but quite the opposite: the show is full of of characters who make bad decisions, inconsiderate advances, and so on. In the end, we went with what worked both in terms of filling gaps in the rest of the set's content as well as what would sound best on a keys only accompaniment.

"Unrequited Lover", our first selection, was one of the most obvious selections. The tune is a wistful melody wherein three characters discuss the loves they lost through indecision. Each falls to their own circumstances (obliviousness, fear, self-doubt) and mourns the chance to reconnect with an idealised image after. The song has both a favourite of the reading and cabaret cast and also an utter nightmare on my end: the rhythm is complex and fairly wordy, which makes a properly scanned and emphasised translation painfully difficult. Rehearsals during reading production dealt with the worst of it through simplifying the first verse, but a few hours of staring into the depths of the computer screen have netted what is, in my opinion, a lyrically simple but more musically and emotionally effective edition.

Of course, what this really means is that the actors get lots of email from me with comments to pitch their prior sheet music and learn the new edition. I've lost count of how many actual revisions there've been (my track changes on the digital sheet music shows eight) but this is officially the second hardest song to work out lyrically in the show (the first is a rap number.)

While "Unrequited Lover" is an obvious choice for our cabaret, it's questionable as to whether or not it should have been in "Northern Line" to begin with: the song has long been cut in the Berlin production of "Linie 1", and the song is even missing in the official English translation. Fortunately it remains in the licensed script and score, and inspired by its reintroduction to the Korean edition, we pressed ahead. It sits brilliantly in our edition, and we're thrilled to have it.

Our second choice, "Mary's Song", was a more challenging decision. This isn't a traditional love song, or even a traditional "I don't need love" song of independence. This is a song about the lack of love - a boyfriend isn't even worth considering for this character as she's been betrayed and rejected by everybody in her life. It's rough, hard, and heartbreaking that so much negativity can pour forth from this girl's heart, yet it's genuinely tender as we see beneath the construct that Mary has created in order to drag herself through life.

As I pointed out in the very first Northern Line blog, the original German version of this song (Marias Lied) has been recently rediscovered and covered not once but twice in the wider world of German music. While we can only dream of our version reaching such heights (Amy Winehouse could certainly use it as a new hot single), the English version certainly has its own identity as it's darker and more savage than the German edition: instead of a reassuring "my life sucks but I'm OK so you'll be OK" moment, our version is accusatory, bordering on the nihilistic. And yet it's beautiful, and we can't wait for everyone to see it.

So, there you have it: despite the bumps in the road, our march of progress continues.

Next time: Revision, revision, revision