The Interview - Lisa Turner

Lisa is performing her one-woman show The Opposite of Waiting at the Buxton Methodist Church Hall on 15, 17, 21 & 22 July, 3.00-3.45pm.

Lisa Turner has taken a brave decision with her new showThe Opposite of Waiting. As an opera singer she has been used to being part of large companies and taking on the role of historical heroes and villains. As such she remains well supported, and to some extent hidden, by the whole performance environment.

In this show she works alone with the minimum of props, sound, lighting or costume – “hiding behind nothing”. Lisa invites us to consider “how a woman, locked-up in a space deals with that.”

The space in question is never really defined. “It could be a prison cell or it could be in her own head. It doesn’t really matter where she is. The question is can she get out of where she is – or can she invite others to join her?”

For a trained singer it may seem natural that music and song is an obvious support for someone who is otherwise alone. Lisa’s premise is that just as we all, eventually, find ourselves singing when on our own then so does her character. Part of the performance is about asking, “Why do we sing and what different reasons are there for singing?” It’s not, though, a Desert Island Discs exercise in linking music to life-changing episodes.

The songs she sings are those enduring folk or traditional melodies, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Shenandoah and Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes. Songs that are not particularly specific in terms of time and place but which allow “the singer to explore how she feels or how her mental state is changing.” She also uses plainsong melodies but has provided words that explain her character’s thinking.

Lisa lives in Cardiff these days and hopes to perform The Opposite of Waiting there is October – but these Buxton performances represent a genuine world premiere. If the publicity and programme notes make this look like a slightly dark experience don’t allow yourself to be put off. Lisa is passionate about this show and can hardly stop herself smiling and laughing in anticipation. The show has, she says, “a happy ending. It’s not a tragedy. It’s about making something of a situation. It tries to show how we need to take an interest in the world beyond and then doors will open.”


By Keith Savage - 15/07/2008