Syncopated – Liverpool Playhouse
The meaning of syncopated is explained at the end, tho perhaps more sensible if used to introduce the play, the simplest definition being ‘a variety of rhythms’. There is also a question of balance: between a present day brief encounter and the story of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, who brought jazz from America to the UK back in 1919. And it is a fascinating story; they enjoyed remarkable success, playing all over the country, including Buckingham Palace. But… Boy meets girl, boy annoys the hell out of girl (he’s a Londoner apart from anything else… boy asks for her help to compose a musical. Unfortunately, rather a contrived framing, not helped by being delivered in epistolatory style: after Frank from the Orchestra meets Liver Bird Penny, he sends her letters describing events - bu...