Nina: The High-priestess of Soul

Set in a smoky, intimate bar in Paris during the twilight of Nina Simone's illustrious career, we see NINA's (Tersia Harley) fingers dance over the keys: each note carrying the weight of a thousand stories. And then she sings... and we are drawn into the world of Nina Simone. Nina recounts the highs and lows of her life and career through her music and monologues.

Written and directed by multi-award-winning director Amanda Bothma, with musical direction by Isak Bellingham, this cabaret promises pure delight.

Tersia Harley is surely a very talented musician. Having had the opportunity to see the show on both nights - its debut on the 26th, and the following evening too - it's clear this is a new show.

Friday night was marked with a technical glitch, that was most distracting, to the audience as it's ticked away every time she moved, but also, clearly, to the performer. The volume was very soft, and it seemed that the sound operator tried to turn things up, but was unsuccessful, as the ticking only got louder. Harley's game was off, and the show seemed a disappointment. Expecting more in terms of content, Nina Simone's life was long, full and complicated, and the 45 minutes on stage hardly scraped the surface. With a quick and undramatic ending, Harley stood, barely bowed, and exited, leaving the audience waiting for the interval to be over. But that was it.

The Saturday, however, was a completely different show. Harley ditched the earring that threw her the previous evening (turns out the ticking was a large gold detail knocking against the microphone) and sang her heart out.

Harley slowed things down, took a beat between story and dialogue, and stretched the show to an hour. The lighting was simple but worked well enough to supplement the basic mood created by the Playhouse foyer. There's scope for something more dramatic, but I suspect this was a limitation by the venue, not the direction. The focus was fully and completely on the piano and Harley's clean, pure voice.

Nina Simone's history came out, including cultural context, her experience with the Civil War, relationships with key figures like Malcolm X, and her relationships and lovers. For the first time, some songs made sense. Harley produced music that made you stop breathing so you could focus and listen. She knows the songs, the lyrics, and the original singer intimately.

It's exciting where this show can go - it has a lot of potential, but it's still in its infancy. Keep an eye out for Wela Kapela Productions and where they're taking this show next - you want to watch it.