DELUSIONS AND GRANDEUR AT THE NEW : GREAT ENTERTAINMENT

“Karen, you have a gift and a higher calling. People feel something when you play”. Renowned cellist Karen Hall explained that this is what she was told when she was younger and that this is one of the reasons why she is a cellist. She explained this as she was messily eating her way through a Subway sandwich. Her comedic timing and wry humour are significant parts of her show and a delightful foil to her sublime cello playing. A skilful performance of the prelude of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G major was the initial piece of music we were entertained with, and it was accompanied by a brief lecture on differences between baroque and classical music, the dance aspect of the Cello Suite and the motto Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God alone), which Bach wrote on every manuscript.DELUSIONS AND GRANDEUR is promoted as a classical cello recital meets performance art clown show. Having given us a taste of her musical ability and her storytelling and humour prowess, Karen continued to alternate between these facets. The clowning is a minor feature of the show but the cello and performance art are delightful and captivating. The stories often have a core of black humour and one of the facts Karen shares is the prevalence of mental health issues amongst performers linked to stress and injuries. Black humour seems like a good mechanism to deal with these pressures. Her mood is cleverly reflected in her music. As she works her way through the different movements of Bach’s Cello Suite the audience can sometimes hear her manic forces, her melancholia or her blissful state expressed in the music. This show is a delightful combination of storytelling, humour and glorious music. Highly recommended, DELUSIONS AND GRANDEUR, created and performed by  Karen Hall, is playing at the New Theatre, Newtown as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival until 28th September  2024. Production photography by Jeremy David.