Joe McGann as Ray Say, Beverley Callard as Mari Hoff, Jess Robinson as Little Voice and Ray Quinn as Billy in the Rise and Fall of Little Voice

REVIEW - The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

by Danny Boyle

A drunken Mari Hoff stumbles home after another night on the tiles.

Upstairs, her softly-spoken daughter takes comfort in perfecting her impersonations of Sixties pop divas.

Life was always going to be tough for Little Voice after the death of her like-minded father, leaving her with a man-eating mother concerned only with finding her next drink and yelling ‘cull that noise!’ every time her daughter belts out another perfect tune.

Beverley Callard plays a convincing Mari in this production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, which gets off to a slow start but soon picks up the pace.

Bouncing off the perfectly-casted Sally Plumb as fat friend Sadie, Callard plays the comedy role well - but her over-acting does not quite sit right in the more serious scenes.

Little Voice’s (Jess Robinson) talent remains a secret until Mari’s romance with talent scout Ray Say (Joe McGann) propels her into the limelight.

But while the shy singer is reluctant to step out of the shadows, newcomer Robinson steals the show as she performs Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand hits with ease to the audience’s delight.

She is a shining star in the making – with a big voice to match.

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice runs at the Orchard Theatre, Dartford, until Saturday. Tickets from £24.50. Box office 01322 220000.