Arts & Culture

What: Just for One Day
Where: CAA Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St.
When: Now, until Sat., March 15
Highlight: Any one of the Queen songs
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should go: Get a blast of good feeling in these dark days as cynicism faces off with hope in upbeat jukebox musical

IN TIMES OF existential crisis, like now, cynicism and hopelessness can be the biggest enemies; when the forces of oppression and ignorance seem so strong that resistance is futile, then more than ever is the time we need hope, and it’s what makes the local premiere of Just for One Day: The Live Aid Musical so timely — and necessary.

Co-produced by Mirvish with British partners before it returns to London’s West End and with the participation of the Band Aid Charity, One Day is a jukebox musical with a hell of a jukebox and a narrative that faces head-on the idea of cynicism and performative acts in the face of seemingly hopeless crisis — in this case, the famine in Ethiopia. The play has an obvious resonance for today as we fall into a Trump-propelled series of crises and negative agendas.

A Live Aid souvenir handbook commemorating the 1985 concerts that saw massive music stars of the day perform fundraising shows for Ethiopian famine relief spark a conversation between a boomer mom, Suzanne, who was there — charmingly performed and powerfully voiced by Melissa Jacques — and her gen Z daughter, Jemma (Fayth Ifil), who was a somewhat appropriate amount of cynicism about the event and the idea of white rock stars claiming to save Africans.

What’s kind of amazing about One Day is that it addresses the cynicism square on. As the Live Aid tale is told through flashback scenes, voice is constantly given to those saying the fundraiser is just a distraction that will be of no real value and is virtue signalling for the entire Western world. Boomtown Rat lead singer and Live Aid visionary Bob Geldof, smugly yet charmingly played by Craige Els, is depicted as a foul-mouthed liar not afraid to bully or mislead others into getting the results he seeks.

Through parallel narratives and flashbacks, we see Geldof and Midge Ure’s idea for a fundraising Christmas song morph into a worldwide mega-fundraising event based on two concerts being streamed worldwide. We also see a young, idealistic Suzanne (Hope Kenna) defending Geldof’s vision to a cynical record shop pal who voices the kind of skepticism about the single and the concerts that I probably published in NOW Magazine at the time.

The play also opens a window on aid workers in Ethiopia and their weary response to the promise of help and the tortuous journey the aid takes to the needy. Geldof eventually makes it to Africa, where he learns of gangs holding food aid for ransom in the ports.

And all of this with an awesome soundtrack featuring songs by Band Aid and Live Aid performers — including David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Elton John and Phil Collins — powerfully reinterpreted and staged. And yes, the play acknowledges the profound whiteness of the setlist. Geldof even mutters a mumbled aside apology about the lack of awareness at the time.

In many ways, the play, like the man himself, is unapologetic. It acknowledges there are, ahem, challenges about white saviour mentality, Africa-as-a-basket-case depictions and the idea that one act, like buying a single, somehow cleanses the West of further responsibility; but the play, and Geldof, also insists doing something is better than doing nothing.

And it’s likely you’ll feel like doing something rather than nothing and giving into despair upon seeing Just for One Day, a hopeful antidote to trying times.