Performed live on 29 September. Watch back online until 6 October.
"Something that will stay with you for the rest of your life" SUNDAY TIMES
Written and performed by Christine Bovill
No glamour. No gimmicks. No pretence. Nothing but a voice, singing of life’s triumphs and tragedies. Who was Edith Piaf? And how did she come to represent the spirit of Paris like no one before or since?
Christine Bovill hated French at school; a fact she was happy to share with anyone who would listen. That is, until the chance discovery of an Edith Piaf record. This would prove a seminal moment in the life of the 14 year old girl from Glasgow - and set Christine on a fateful path through time, into the world of France’s greatest musical icon.
"If you love music, and you want to experience something extraordinary, then run, fly, race to book your ticket immediately" EDINBURGH FESTIVAL MAGAZINE
"Bovill’s voice is remarkable, note-perfect and deftly achieving the husky, trembling vibrato needed to carry these songs" BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Presented as part of the Something to Say Series
A series of lectures, concerts and comedy gathering local and international artists who not only entertain but inspire by giving voice to the stories that resonate with our everyday lives, the stories that matter most to us.
SPECIAL OFFER- Book two shows in this series for discounts
PIAF, as much a play as it is a musical homage, is a funny, poignant and moving theatrical homage to one of France’s most endearing icons; celebrating some of her best known songs, threaded with Piaf’s story, and Christine’s own remarkable journey in the world of chanson.
An award-winning songwriter in her own right, and recipient of Spirit of the Fringe, Bovill has toured throughout Europe and the Far East with her self-penned homage to the Little Sparrow, appearing on BBC Newsnight and on BBC Radio 4’s series, Soul Music. During her Edinburgh Fringe sell-out run at the Famous Speigeltent, Bovill realised a lifelong dream when she shared the stage with Charles Dumont, great friend of Piaf and, most famously, composer of "Non, Je ne Regrette Rien". They performed several songs together to close the show. PIAF was awarded the Fringe laurels for Total Sell Out Show 2011 and 2012. It received 5 STAR reviews from some of the most respected publications (including The Scotsman).
Despite the sorrow of Piaf’s story, this is an evening of celebration – a tale of human triumph over tragedy; and, at its heart, a unique performance by a woman widely regarded as one of the finest interpreters of French Song.
Christine Bovill has built a formidable reputation as a performer, chanteuse and writer. Born into a Glasgow family where folk music was the flavour of the age, Christine characteristically explored her own inclinations, finding a delight in jazz and cabaret, which she has been developing ever since.
After some years of teaching English and French by day and singing in the jazz haunts of her native city, Christine left the classroom to pursue a career in performing. Her natural progression into songwriting would reveal a major talent, one devoted to the power of the lyric. She won the Glasgow Festival of Songwriting and soon released Derby Street, her first album and BBC Radio Scotland’s Album Of The Week.
Over the last decade Christine has established herself as a much-sought live performer with a massively successful sold-out Christine Bovill’s Piaf at the Edinburgh Fringe, where the Famous Spiegeltent provided the perfect setting for her act; and where she shared the stage with Edith Piaf's great friend and last composer, Mr Charles Dumont. Her self-penned Piaf play was greatly received by the critics, gaining 5-star ratings from National press. She has toured the show internationally, in the UK, Europe and as the Far East, accompanied by a symphony orchestra.
In 2016 she launched her new show, Christine Bovill’s Paris at the Edinburgh Fringe. It won seven 5 star reviews, and saw her pick up the Spirit of the Fringe Award 2017 in Edinburgh. A life in the devoted service of French culture paid off!
She completed her second album in 2016, The Sentence That I Serve - a Roots Affair, stirring in the tangle of vintage pop, chanson and Americana.
Christine has performed live on TV and radio many times : ITV, BBC Newsnight and on Radio 4’s Soul Music, and has written lyrics for two tracks on a film score for Sony.
Three of her songs were included on the award winning soundtrack of indie film, Where Do We Go From Here? in 2017.
Christine sings and co-wrote a song featured in 2018's Ant Man And The Wasp and the US TV drama, Preacher.
Christine launched in 2019, on the eve of the centenery of the Roaring Twenties, a new show- Tonight You Belong To Me..... "As F.Scott Fitzgerald would say “she was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved” and Christine very obviously loves to sing and tell a story with her honey toned voice and deep blue eyes. The Fountain
christinebovill.com
