In 2005 isn’t it absolutely fab to realise that Morrissey and Johnny Marr are one hundred per cent in harmony again? At least in relation to Anonymous Society staging a show called Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, which will be presenting at the Olympia Theatre during the forthcoming Dublin Theatre Festival.
Andrew Wale and Perrin Manzer Allen – aka theatre group Anonymous Society – contacted both separately, perhaps not surprisingly, and each not only readily but gleefully agreed to give permission for their songs to be re-contextualised in a production that not only ‘draws on the mood, wit and passion of the writers’ words and music’ but promises to hold up a mirror to the ‘unravelling relationships of four women and two men.’ And Wale, for one, was equally gleeful with Morrissey and Marr’s response. Then again, Anonymous Society had already proven itself to be a theatre of great vision, innovation and physicality with its 1999 Edinburgh success, a show based on the works of Jacques Brel, with which Morrissey certainly was familiar.
“Morrissey also saw a breakdown of the way we wanted to develop this show and the themes behind this show, and heard a few early demos of arrangements, mostly for string quartet, for many of the songs we wanted to use - and he immediately said yes!” Andrew explains.
Surely this kind of artistic attention being paid to Morrissey’s work should give the guy orgasms?
“I hope so!' he laughs. “But, seriously, I hope it feels that we are doing justice to the work. He certainly knew, from the start, we never intended to do any kind of tribute show or any straightforward reworking of the material. Johnny Marr certainly didn’t want any of the old iconography of the Smiths rejuvenated, because it was so specifically created and organised to the work the Smiths were doing. “
So had Morrissey himself any input?
“None at all!” says Andrew.
Did he even send Andrew a flower?
“No flowers, unfortunately, but his manager came in and saw the show and he said he was very pleased that Morrissey and Marr had given us the go-ahead. He also said he, personally, felt we had done justice to the work, which was very good for us to hear. But if Morrissey himself saw it, we’ve had no feedback from him in that sense.”
The critical response to Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others has also been “”largely favourable” but critical comments have been “taken on board” and Andrew promises “a more streamlined, focused show in ways, with certain elements reworked” will be staged in Dublin. He also knows damn well that Morrissey’s sense of black humour – reflecting his Irish lineage, perhaps – is hugely appealing to Irish fans of the Smiths and Morrissey’s solo work. But Morrissey fans also do have a sacred devotion to their hero, so what has been the response of fans in general?
“Morrissey fans do have those feelings and, thankfully, all those who came to the show responded really well” he claims. “In fact, we didn’t get any negative feelings from the hard and fast Morrissey fans at all. But I, myself, really was pleased about that on the first night because I’d kind of forgotten about them really - at least during the rehearsal period. Then suddenly they were all there in the theatre, with all the t-shirts on and everything, and I thought ‘oh my god!’ I hope they like it. But they did, and that really is important to me.”
So, if you are a hard or a fast or a hard-and-fast Morrissey, Marr or Smiths fan: haul out your t-shirts, get your flowers and get down to the Olympia theatre any evening from October 7 – 15 and we can all be blissfully miserable together. See you there.