Ottilie – a blues legend whose foreshortened career is brilliantly brought to life on stage (Rathmore Productions at Grand Opera House as part of Belfast International Arts Festival) #BIAF25

Born in Comber, Ottilie Patterson soon moved to Newtownards. Her Latvian mum was musical. But it was the music of the Deep South – blues and jazz – that unexpectedly excited Patterson’s soul. She would become known as “the godmother of British blues”, yet outside those musical circles, her considerable legacy and influence are vastly underappreciated.

Jolene O’Hara portrays Patterson as a performer whose impetuous nature is twinned with undeniable talent. We watch and hear Patterson’s confidence grow and her technique develop as O’Hara delivers snippets of songs amid the monologue. Soon she has jostled and impressed her way into becoming a regular soloist with the Chris Barber Jazz Band in London, eventually touring the UK, Ireland, Europe and the US.

Even for audience members who aren’t aficionados of blues of jazz music, there’s a moment when Patterson is called up on stage by Muddy Waters – “lady, how come you sing like one of us?!” – that you realise the woman from Comber was a world class artist, feted by her peers as well as cultural critics. (The height of her musical success could perhaps have been dwelled upon for longer in the play which seems to display a bit too much Norn Iron modesty.)

The constant travel takes a heavy toll on Patterson’s personal life and her mental heath. After the play’s interval, her anxiety levels rise and her relationship with band leader Barber sours. Being able to perform is a balm but ultimately her vocal cords and her marriage are both strained, and her sense of wellbeing unravels.

Ottilie is a passion project by Richard Clements. It combines his considerable skill as a story-teller (How To Bury A Dead Mule) and his gift as a musician (composing much of the incidental music that is woven into the rich soundscape underneath O’Hara’s monologues. Matthew McElhinney is back in the director seat of this latest Clements’ production.

O’Hara’s is a perfect fit for the role. Her soulful voice, her power and range, lift the musical numbers. The big sound in Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean is spinetingling and aptly reprised as a finale. But the gentler moments, like when Patterson finds the blues in Celtic tunes, are beautiful oases to let the varying mood of the protagonist settle.

Tracey Lindsay has created a striking set, with a broken record as the backdrop and the shiny floor performance space delineated by crumpled up sheets of lyrics and music. Talented arranger and accompanist Zak Irvine sits at a piano to one side of the stage. Mary Tumelty’s lighting design tracks the changing temperament and includes a well-executed shrinking spotlight aimed at the set’s giant vinyl record that creatively mirrors the suggestion that Patterson’s musical prowess is diminishing as rock and roll pushes its way onto the hit parade.

With a run time just shy of two hours (including the interval), Ottilie is a gorgeous show to watch and listen to. Part cabaret, part dialogue, the largely linear narrative keeps moving forwards, though at times it lapses into moments that are perhaps too florid and a bit overwritten. Marathon monologues tend to benefit from props and different parts of a set to move between. While the pieces of paper and LPs (whose labels seamlessly match O’Hara’s costume) are well integrated into the overall choreography, the inclusion of a mic stand or a table with a phone on it might have decreased the amount of dress tugging and twirling in quieter moments.

Ottilie leaves me imagining how a more caring partner and stronger support network might have freed Patterson to take the opportunities of family and musicmaking that she was cruelly denied. There’s such a sadness in what could have been. It makes me ask how her talent was stuffed into a cupboard and only brought out into the light in recent years with a 2020 book, the 2023 documentary, and now this stage show.

Rathmore Productions’ Ottilie runs in the Grand Opera House until Friday 24 October (even the extra matinee performance has now sold out) as part of Belfast International Arts Festival.

Photo credit: Neil Harrison Photography

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