Brian Beacom

ORAN Mor’s play season has closed but the doors of the west end theatre this week are alive to the sound of music.

The next four weeks offers a mini-musicals season, beginning with writer/performer Dave Anderson’s new piece, I Love You, in Danish. (Jeg Elsker Dig).

It’s a love story, featuring a young couple, set during wartime, and they meet in the Palais.

As always with Dave Anderson’s work, the political – in this case a warning of fascism with hints of a Trump world to come – is blended delightfully with soaring song.

But the story needs to be told, and it emerges via the writer’s jakey character (Dave) and the Chanteuse, played by Christine Bovill.

Christine certainly brings a massive amount of life experience to her role.

“I was a schoolteacher for 14 years,” says the lady who was born near Cumbernauld.

“I taught English and French in different schools. But I gave it up.”

Christine had been working nights as a singer and songwriter. In 2100 she released an album and hasn’t returned to teaching since.

“I’ve been living my life in reverse,” she says, grinning.

“I had a solid traditional life, married, working as a teacher and then that all changed.”

Christine rewinds on her life prior to becoming a singer, a lady indeed synonymous with Edith Piaf, thanks to her one-woman tribute.

She admits to being rather out of sorts as a youngster.

“I used to sing in my bedroom. My sister and me sang Everly Brothers songs. I loved fifties rock n’roll. Leonard Cohen was my god.

As a little girl, Christine once saw the Everlys at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow.

“I wanted to marry an Everly,” she says, smiling. “Then when I was a teenager I was a geek. I was bullied at school. And I was odd. I collected old jazz vinyl from the twenties.

“I was always so obsessed with music. And while the other girls were listening to Wham while I was listening to the Everly Brothers.”

But her focus was to change. And it changed her life.

“One day when I was fourteen a priest friend of the family came round and brought an Edith Piaf album.

“I hated the idea of listening to a song in French, but I listened to No regrets and I was hooked.”

The attraction to the French tragic figure took her to studying French and going on to teach the language.

But music was

“There was an ad in the Evening Times in 1994 for jazz singers at the Inn On The Green and I applied and got the job.”

Christine sang Piaf, telling the French singer’s story. But the performance piece evolved into Christine’s story - with music by Piaf.

“Subconsciously, I thought ‘I can’t go back to telling Piaf’s story. I don’t want to be cornered. It’s not a tribute. It’s a girl from Glasgow telling her story and talking about Piaf’s life.”

Christine admits she wasn’t keen on school – yet she became a schoolteacher?

“Well, I was a supply teacher. And I wasn’t given the best certificated classes but I liked the challenge of treating the kids with no aspirations as the five-Higher candidates.

“It was great when one kid quoted Thomas Hardy to me.”

But it was never really for me. I wasn’t in with the bricks.”

In 2004 a crossroads came about. Christine’s marriage ended and she quit teaching. But she wrote her album.

Since then she’s gone on to work in London, in Berlin, in Korea with a symphony orchestra.

She continually returns to Piaf. “I do a similar work with Billie Holliday, but try not to make it depressing, because people want to have a good night out.”

She adds, the work has just kept coming in.

Christine appeared in youth theatre, “I’d love to do more acting,” she reveals. “But I’m writing my third album at the moment.”

And delighted to be at Oran Mor, in this boy-meets-girl tale which also stars Miriam Elwell Sutton, Kevin Lennon and Dave Anderson.

He’s a footballer, she’s a brain-box. Will they fall in love?

“That’s the question,” says Christine. “But it’s a lovely piece. And I’m loving being part of it.”

•I Love You, (In Danish), Oran Mor, until Saturday.