A truly riveting performance last week by Pip Utton in his one man show which received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival 2022. It is wonderful to know that such top-quality theatre is available in Jávea.
The press is invited to a private audience with the enigmatic Bob Dylan, shortly before what will be his last live performance. Dylan rarely speaks nowadays so the writer had free rein to imagine the singer’s reaction.
Dylan talked about his early years: how he came from small town but realised he was destined for greater things. How he came under the spell initially of folk music, and how Woody Guthrie came to be an almost surrogate father.
As his music developed Dylan joined the ranks of subsequently famous singers and artists of the ‘60s, also speaking of his sadness at the premature deaths of many of his contemporaries.
One key theme is relevant today: the price of fame and the impact it has on the artist’s art. Dylan’s every word was hung upon by his legions of fans. What was his view on Vietnam, on God and the meaning of life? “I am not the messiah, I was only 26.” Do songs, plays or the visual arts always have to have special messages? Dylan feels songs have lives of their own and that his role is to help “free” them.
Apart from a disembodied voice summoning him to the stage, we are kept enthralled by Pip’s craft with only a handful of props.
After the show Pip took questions from the audience as himself and as Dylan, admitting it is unlikely Dylan knows about the show.
The Jávea Players’ next production is Oliver! in March at the Unión Musical Theatre in Gata de Gorgos.
Christine Wood
