Celia Pacquola is a lovely, bright and bubbly Australian on a mission. The mission is to learn the solo piano part of a popular 80s hit, even though she is not what one would call proficient in music.
Along the journey, as recounted by Celia, we meet her mum (via video) and are regaled with tales of her youth growing up in the country and attending a school that may not have been the ideal nurturing environment. Along with the stories we are given visual evidence of the teen disco queen, a disastrous haircut (but no pictures, thankfully) and the regrettable choice she made in gatecrashing a sixteenth birthday. I must say that it is amazing how the words “I hope you enjoy that” can have such a wealth of meaning and undertones, but you’ll need to hear the full story to understand. The other main story is of a courageous decision her mum made to learn how to fly a plane, and what resulted a few weeks later.
Celia also has some home movies of her learning process on the piano and we only discover the success (or not) at the end of the show. There is also a small video coda that is worth waiting for.
This was a very full house and the audience were clearly enjoying Celia’s tales and being very supportive of her silly decision to just learn one solo from one piece of music on one instrument. Still, the clapping and cheering at the end showed the show itself was well worth seeing and I recommend booking early if you want an entertaining and uplifting experience.
Visit the Edinburgh Fringe website for booking details