“Aiden set himself this challenge and he’s done extraordinary things with it. The songs are perfectly balanced with the story, with lyricism, poetry, with the music and dance of everyday life. It’s really, really charming. Tim Rogers is the musical director. The whole process is very collaborative. It’s a two-hander, a Saturn return type of love story. Johnno [played by Johnny Carr] is at a dead-end point, he’s socio-economically different from Tash, lower working class, living in outer Sydney under the flightpath, going nowhere fast. Tash [Sophie Ross] is a singer in a band; her energy levels are different from his. We see that she’s extravert and he’s introvert but they recognise that something’s gotta give when they find each other. They allow each other to grow. For one couple it’s about being in the right place at the right time.”
Watson says the story is ‘undeniably Australian’ and reckons audiences will be relating to the tale the whole way through the show. “I think that most people have at least one romance that they will analyse and turn over, a relationship that was a turning point, something that made them grow and change – it should resonate with a very wide audience, reflecting on those moments in their lives,” she notes. Described as ‘an intimate musical gem’, What Rhymes with Cars and Girls features live music throughout. “The band is on stage, it’s a three piece band and it includes Tim playing guitar along with Ben Franz and Xani Colac,” enthuses Watson. “It’s really a pleasure to rehearse.” Beat once grappled with the old ‘what to do with the band on stage while the actors are talking’ dilemma when making a work of musical theatre. How have Watson and Rogers approached this? “I’ve directed a number of works that involved music rather than being musicals themselves. It’s one of the tricky things when you work with musicals. We found a conceit that worked,” she answers.
“The band’s recording an album. You come in and you’re a fly on the wall while they’re recording. The show is a day’s work recording. Every member of the band has spent a lot of time in recording studios which is all underscoring a lot of scenes. Playing a lot. It involves a lot of sitting around and drinking a lot of coffee. So they’re present in space and being themselves. We’ve created a sound studio in the Fairfax,” Watson continues.
Does Watson have a favourite song? “Happy Anniversary – it’s so charming. It’s funny and heartbreaking, really lovely, and it should resonate with everybody. It’s such great material – a new Australian musical, they don’t come around that often.” The challenge for Watson, she says, is in not getting carried away by the musical elements at the expense of theatre. “The music is so beautiful, it transports you emotionally – it’s completely joyous in rehearsal, so the challenge is not to get sucked into that when you have actors to direct. The actors still have plenty of work to do. The story has to be resonating and authentic, and we have to not let that be driven by the beautiful music. The show’s in the tradition of Boy Meets Girl. It references romances like Grease, Romeo and Juliet, A Streetcar Named Desire – there are references to all those great stories in the mood and characterisation of the show. The couple are reflective of a lot. We have worked on the look of the piece; I don’t want it to feel like a musical. We don’t want there to be choreography for no reason. The audience sit in a world where this could exist; we don’t have to suspend our disbelief to some huge degree. But wouldn’t it be lovely if you could dance along and sing in public places?”
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
