Chrissie Shaw: Reviews & Showlist

Elements of film noir pervade Page’s poetic narrative… but (his) ironic humour at the moment of action (“reaching down to grab the gun had seemed too far to stoop”) pens a less suspenseful tone, preferring to lend his amateur sleuth a far more comical aspect than a film noir heroine of crime detection would portray.

Director Kate Gaul imbues Page’s verse play with a dramatic metre, eliciting an excellent performance from Shaw, and evocatively underscoring the one-hour monologue with Mitchell’s hypnotic interludes on sax, recalling a shattered dream and consuming obsession.

…an evening of intriguing entertainment that is sure to please…Don’t miss this theatrical treat.

It was an enthralling, an all-absorbing tale as Chrissie Shaw told it, with haunting snippets of memory on an alto saxophone from Sylvia Mitchell.

There is an astonishing charm in THE KEEPER. Chrissie is almost childlike in the telling of her stories – sometimes she sings a snatch of song; she narrates bits of her stories to herself; she might suddenly lecture to us briefly on aspects of lighthouses, the keeping of the light, and the living conditions of the keeper and his family; and then she plays with the white pebbles and the simple objects as she continues her stories, with all the concentration of a child absorbed in a game.
It is a riveting performance – and one that should not be missed.

The Keeper, based on true accounts of lighthouse keepers’ lives and woven into a composite tale of hardship, danger, and fearful gothic imaginings, casts light upon this time, charting the lives of those who chose to live in remote outposts along the coast. Chrissie Shaw, with engaging, gentle charm, tells the story of Connie, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter, and of life long ago, before the advent of automated lighthouses along the rugged, inhospitable coastline.
Director Penelope Bartlau, assisted by designer Imogen Keen, breathes unique life and atmosphere into the inanimate. Plain Babushka dolls are the sisters, a seashell, standing in the shifting crystals of sea salt upon a portentous bath-like structure, becomes Connie’s husband Bill, and a feather suggests a high society lady. Shaw, Bartlau and Keen, through their skilful illusory art, convincingly create the reality of that bygone era.
Shaw reveals herself as a captivating and unassuming storyteller, weaving narrative and instruction together to reveal the lighthouse keeper’s life. Appealing to young and old alike, The Keeper is a poignant reminder of the courage and endurance of the lighthouse pioneers. As a work imaginative educational drama, the show deserves to be picked up as a touring show to schools to bring a crucial part of this nation’s history into today’s classrooms.