Parlez-Vous Franglais
VICTORIA KINGHAM explores an on-stage café and its residents
Encountering David Manners for the first time, you’d be forgiven for passing him in the street. A slight, quiet, youthful figure in a cap and jeans, his appearance belies the enormous talent and philanthropy which seem to be second nature to him. Ahead of his splendid new production, Cafe Franglais, we did a little research on his background and that of the other actors in this unusual show.
Left to right: David Manners, Neil Sellman, Tamara Leggett
David Charles Manners was brought up a Mormon, but as a young man was excommunicated from his church. In one of his books, Limitless Sky, he writes about a journey to the Himalayas, in part to find a connection which had been minimised and mythologised by his immediate family.
The family he sought were there: 36 cousins living on the hereditary family tea plantation, and the myths were actuality. Introduced to a Shaman in North Bengal, he underwent an initiation, part of which was to spend a night with a freshly-dead body. As a result of this and other psychotropically-aided experiences, he made the decision that thereafter “every single day would be lived more fully and more intensely than it had ever been before.”
Twelve years later, this resolution has been profoundly fulfilled. Not only has vastly intelligent polymath Manners written a number of well-reviewed books based on memoirs of his extraordinary family, he is a musician, composer and stage designer, and has also been awarded the British Empire Medal for his work in the charity Savra, which he co-founded in aid of leprosy sufferers.
This man of limitless imagination now lives in Eastbourne, and Hastings is lucky enough to have him associated with The Stables Theatre as a writer and producer. He has written and masterminded a number of plays and other productions here, including Picture Perfect, starring acclaimed actor Liza Sadovy, soon to be released as a film with Janie Dee.
THE PRODUCTION
Among a number of other projects, Manners’ company, BallyBest, has produced some unique multi-linguistic stage projects. You can find a review of the last one, Kabarett, by following the link below this article. The most recent, shown a couple of weeks ago, is a delicately-concocted narrative made up of French and English songs, sung by the extraordinary Tamara Leggett, whose astonishing ability with language, gorgeous voice and communicative excellence tell a story to the audience even if they don’t understand French.
“Forty years ago,” says Manners, “ I was working with a French singer, playing piano in West End bars. And so I had a pile of French music that I’d never found anybody capable of singing since, primarily because of the language. So Tamara was an absolute gift, because her ability with language and her speed of learning are extraordinary.”
The tribute is well-deserved. Tamara is modest about her achievements. In Kabarett she sang in Yiddish, German, French and English. In Café Franglais she sings French songs as though she were born to do it. She says she doesn’t speak German but grew up listening to the conversation of her German grandparents; she spent her teenage years singing along to Celine Dion under her duvet, not wanting people to hear her sing. She’s happy, she says, listening to songs in any language. “It wasn’t just Celine Dion,” she elaborates. “I listened to Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour.” She’s centre-stage almost all the time in this production, but skilled enough to improvise, ad lib or change the order of songs, and the rapport between her and Manners is close enough for her to communicate spur-of-the-moment changes.
It came as something of a surprise to me that though she has the air and the accomplishment of a seasoned professional, she doesn’t have a long previous career in either acting or singing: “I have,” she says, pointing to her head, “just in here!” When she had the children, she decided to get some singing lessons and do what she had always known she wanted to do. Hastings, in fact, was the first place in which she performed.
With Leggett, and Neil Sellman (who is also director of The Stables, but I’ll come back to that) Café Franglais sold out two nights at our theatre. The setting is simple yet effective – a pianist and café proprietors recount their lives in song. People sit at little tables with red gingham cloths and candles, drink wine and eat things – almost stereotypically French bistro. There’s a backdrop of the front entrance of the café, cleverly projected, that looks like something out of Toulouse-Lautrec. Inside, the proprietors move about, muse and reminisce.
THE SONGS
There’s something about songs in the French language that makes everything sound wistfully ironic. They look back to shared moments in Paris or on the beach; they determinedly tell their lover that they don’t love them; they forgive past infidelities; they remember romances under Paris skies. There are references to brief affairs, illicit loves, disappointments and loss, and to continuing to live with all of those. At the very least, Tout Le Monde Veut Dev’nir un Cat, because in spite of life’s disappointments, a cat always lands on its feet.
In English, the very tragical mirth of Noël Coward (Let’s Say Goodbye is about a brief, memorable affair between two men) is interspersed with a couple of American blues songs, songs by Ivor Novello (extraordinary Welsh songwriter, known to have had a relationship with WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon) and then The Boy From… Stephen Sondheim’s inversion of The Girl From Ipanema where in fact the woman who sings it is oblivious to the gayness of the man to whom she is attracted: Why are his trousers vermilion? / Why does he claim he’s Castilian? / Why do his friends call him Lillian? / And I hear at the end of the week, / he’s leaving to start a boutique. It pokes fun at a stereotype, but also at the idea of first-time infatuation.
Between them, the three performers have combined the 35 numbers into something that isn’t an exact narrative, but leaves an overwhelming impression of the two café proprietors reconciled to their lives with each other while remembering moments of passion with someone else. Well into middle age, they clear tables, chop vegetables, light candles, serve customers and sing about the past. It’s an evocative, imaginative show performed with grace and a little daring.
THE SKILLS
Neil Sellman, chair and general manager at The Stables, is also comfortable acting and singing in French. Hastings-born, he leads the Board of Trustees and Council of Management at the theatre to ensure the organisation delivers on its charitable objectives and maintains good governance. He liaises between the council (who contribute funds), the many volunteers, and the productions and events.
Overseeing dozens of new productions, he has transformed the theatre from a purely local venue into a well-known centre for dramatic innovation, including classes and opportunities for young actors. His background is the management of a charity for people with learning disabilities, but he has performed in plays and shows in Hastings, Lewes, Brighton, Eastbourne and London (at The Seven Dials). He, Leggett and Manners got together after he directed them in a performance of A Christmas Carol in 2023.
Between the three of them, then, are all the skills needed for great musical theatre – skill, huge talent, commitment, mutual admiration and – it seems – quite a lot of love between them. There’s another project in its early stages – expect it to emerge in nine months. Meanwhile, treasure The Stables Theatre, its marvellous productions, community projects, art gallery, volunteers, and general engagement with the local public. It’s unique.
Taking part in Cafe Franglais on 30 September and 1 October were David Manners (pianist), Tamara Leggett (soprano) and Neil Sellman (tenor). Stables Theatre: stablestheatre.co.uk/. David Manners: davidcharlesmanners.com
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