The novel centers around a trio of stage performers: a magician named Ronnie, his assistant, Evie, and the show’s compère, Jack. Although the narration makes a series of jumps into the past and future, the main action of the story is set in the summer of 1959, in Brighton. Over the summer season, readers follow the evolution of their brand of seaside entertainment and of their personal relationships. There is a handful of musical references in the novel: “When the Red Red Robin (Comes Bob’ Bob’ Bobbin’ Along)”, “Sunny Side Up”, “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”, “Shine on Harvest Moon”, “I’ve Got A Crush on You”. The epigraph is a line from Joni Mitchell's song “Both Sides Now”. There is also a TV reference: “Saturday Night at The London Palladium”.
One of the first things the author does as he introduces the characters is to let us know who can sing and who cannot. Jack can really carry a tune for he is, as he modestly describes himself, “an old song and dance man” (10). He is the one who sings “When the Red Red Robin…” to the audience at the end of each show. Evie, however, is incapable of singing. As she reminisces about a failed audition, the author tells us that “She could never sing” (17). As a chorus girl, Evie had to learn to lip-sync “Sunny Side Up”. Ronnie’s singing abilities are never discussed in the book.
Let’s return to Jack’s favorite ditty, a way for the audience to transition to the real world after Ronnie and Evie’s performance. The song is mentioned very early on (8) and near the end (188). Quoted twice (10, 188), “Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head” seems to be the most significant line of the song. Here, one cannot help but draw a parallel between the line and Jack’s future part in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Doesn’t Puck, aka Robin Goodfellow (97-98), tell his audience to wake up at the end of the play? The author uses two other lines: “There’ll be no more sobbing” (18) and “Live, love, laugh and be happy” (141). Much like in “Sunny Side Up”, there is a pervasive naiveté in these promises (or in these injunctions) of happiness.
While the “Robin” song is the final send-off, Jack has other musical numbers to introduce the various acts of the show. One of them is “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (80). To introduce readers to the song and to create a vivid picture of the multi-talented compère, the author attempts a typographical rendering of the performance: lines from the song in italics alternate with the onomatopoeic rhythms produced by Jack’s tapdancing. Later, the author also uses the line “Honey Moon, keep-a shinin’ in June!” (94).
When Ronnie is temporarily unable to take the stage, Jack has to lengthen his interventions. He adds “Shine on Harvest Moon” to his list of songs (140), the new number described as “extra-soupy”. When he tries to join one of the other musical acts, Doris Lane or The Rockabye Boys, egos get in the way. He’s relegated to the part of mute dancer as “The Mistress of Melody” performs “I’ve Got a Crush on You” (141).
When Ronnie, aka the Great Pablo, makes his triumphant return, he refines his illusions. One performance in particular will leave audiences breathless. To ensure maximum effect, Ronnie employs the skills of the drummer in the pit (161-165). The fact that we get the musician’s full name seems to establish him as a crucial part of the performance. The description of Arthur Higgs’ drum work includes the following expressions: “his own little whispery scuffling”, “a little gathering shimmer on the cymbals”, “his wait-and-see whisking and thrumming” and “a big drum crash”. What is interesting here, is that the drummer is both a close collaborator and a “dumbstruck” spectator. Those who are curious about Ronnie’s masterful illusion will have to read the book.
Swift, Graham, Here We Are, Scribner, 2020
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