.png)
Barbara Loots
Opening with the lyrical words “only remembered for what we have done…” the nostalgia echoed through Theatre on the Bay, as the Songman from the hit musical War Horse, the brilliant Bob Fox, took the audience on a hauntingly beautiful journey with every note he sang…
An Evening with the War Horse Songman, BOB FOX, is a very easy theatre night out. No extravagant set, no bells and whistles, just a man and his guitar, Fox nevertheless takes you on a magical journey. Even though Joey the puppet may not run around on stage with him, Fox vividly sketches the story of Albert and Joey as he moves from song to song.
Although he jokingly says the only part of War Horse he was allowed to keep was the hat of his character, I beg to differ. I think the story has taken up residence in his heart and the memory he fondly carries with him is a much bigger “set piece” than the hat.
The songs he performs in this show are the type of songs the human soul yearns for even though we don’t always acknowledged it. Our senses are so often assaulted by candyfloss pop on the radio these days that we don’t acknowledge our ‘music of substance’ longing until we hear good old fashioned folk story songs.
Fox reveals the story of each song to the audience as if he is having a conversation at the pub in Temple Bar, Dublin while having a pint and sharing a joke. When I closed my eyes his song-song way took me right back to one of my favourite countries … my beloved Ireland, walking the streets of Dublin with soul music on every street corner.
You are definitely encouraged to sing your heart out, because everyone else in the audience will, as the Songman invites you to echo along with the catchy refrains as you instinctively tap your foot too.
Here is raising a Guinness to Bob Fox, for connecting with his audience in an honest and personal way. A truly lovely evening spent at Theatre on the Bay. Take a drive to Camps Bay and be swept away on the memory notes of a folk song or two!
Book now at Computicket to see this musical legend at Theatre on the Bay before run ends on 12 September 2015. Tickets range from R150 to R250.