Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at Silo Theatre

It has become traditional for Auckland theatres to stage a musical at the end of the year. Apparently there is something about Christmas that has us all craving big show tunes.

As the home of Auckland's most edgy and innovative theatre, the Silo's Christmas musical was never going to be The Sound of Music, but its first musical production is not as different as some might expect.

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is a traditional music revue with 25 songs and a smattering of dancing.

There is no pesky, overarching story to get in the way and you don't have to spend the first act getting used to the fact that people are going to suddenly break into song.

It is a tight cabaret jammed with the kind of witty, cool tunes that even people who hate musicals would find hard to resist. Each song is a little story of its own and you needn't have heard the music before to enjoy it.

Brel wrote about junkies, prostitutes and love affairs gone wrong, and while mainstream fame eluded him, his songs were covered by heavyweights such as David Bowie and Frank Sinatra.

And it was easy for me to see how Brel's style of composition has influenced many others in modern music.

Although the content of the songs is edgy and covers all aspects of human frailty, the Silo production is relatively straight.

Jacques Brel debuted Off-Broadway in 1968 and director Jennifer Ward-Lealand seems to have taken the era as a reference point. There is a 60s French jazz club vibe in the stage and costume design, with the theatre transformed into an intimate cabaret.

The audience sits at tiny circular tables covered with black tablecloths under a twinkling fairylight roof. The stage is bare expect for a trio of musicians, black poles and four red chairs.

Jacques Brel is traditionally sung by two men and two women and this show is no different. Shane Bosher, Andrew Laing, Kate Prior and Claire Chitham are in fine voice and cope well with the difficult arrangements. Paul Barrett's musical direction is excellent, and the tight transitions literally keep the performers on their toes with little pause for breath between songs.

The boys really shine in the show. Bosher is a charismatic performer who owns every solo he sings. It doesn't matter if the song requires humour or pathos, he has the chops to deliver.

Laing has a lovely warm voice and he too shows great range in his performance, switching from lovelorn to ferocious anger with ease.

Both Prior and Chitham are endlessly watchable and have strong clear voices, but I felt they needed to steal a little from each other's style. At times I would have liked Prior to tone it down a little and borrow some of Chitham's charm and whimsy, and at other times Chitham needed some of Prior's strength and passion.

Although some of the normal Silo bite is missing from this show, there is still plenty to enjoy in the overall experience.

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris gives you the chance to step back in time and experience a small, dark, 60s beat poet club without the Gauloises.

*When: Theatre until December 17