Qulture Magazine

Words: Clíona McCann

Frozen Love provides an utterly captivating portrait of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham from an angle rarely seen; before the chaos of Fleetwood Mac. Written and performed by Georgie Banks and Jake Byrom, the show follows Buckingham and Nicks trying to survive while recording their lesser known duo album prior to fame and success.

Banks and Byrom have taken full advantage of the hybrid form of the show- it’s not quite a musical, it’s not quite a play, and it’s definitely not a typical tribute act. Set to the tune of the infamous Buckingham Nicks, Banks and Byrom described Frozen Love as simply ‘a play with songs’. The songs are tightly knit together with the very situations which inspired them, allowing the show, an astounding level of intimacy. The transitions from scene to scene are flawless and tight- I was completely engrossed. Director and designer Tilly Penn gave me an insight into the rehearsal stages of the show and how Frozen Love formed its own identity away from established clichés:

‘Basically we split it into states. We had the scene state, the concert state and the interview state… We hit a point in rehearsals where everything was going well but it felt like it wasn’t connecting… and it was feeling a bit tribute-y… how do we string it together to make it this seamless piece that has a narrative?  And that is when we started to play with putting speeches in between songs.’

Penn invites the audience to step into the world of Buckingham and Nicks with a stunning and innovative stage design. A seemingly humble flight case becomes their shared apartment, and a photography studio. A wooden room divider becomes a recording booth. About the design of the show, Penn told me, ‘I did a lot of research on time period… and I became obsessed with this idea of a flight case… It was an exciting process, looking at what colours to pull and push, and really give it this warm, intimate feeling but to not detract from anything happening onstage’.

Assistant director, Gray Enever, described the character work they implemented to achieve the nuance and depth the show required. When I asked about the challenges of building characters around real people, Enever described the delicate balancing act of creating a convincing portrayal of Nicks and Buckingham without restricting the freedom of the actors:

‘Yes, take what you know about them, but you’re also an actor with your own individual elements… trust in your own process’.

Enever also encouraged the actors to write private diary entries for no-one else to read to help them truly inhabit the characters. Byrom told us, ‘I found the diary stuff so helpful because you’re writing a secret… and you get to bring kind of your own thing to that person’.

This extensive work undoubtedly shines throughout, both the bombastic highs and the still, reflective moments of the show, as Banks and Byrom are the complete package. They are powerhouses in every aspect. With just their voices and a guitar, they are able to hypnotise an entire room. They are able to fully embody Nicks and Buckingham- not only are their vocals pitch perfect, but their chemistry together is magnetic. Each performance is so carefully crafted; no movement or look or expression feels out of place. Nicks and Buckingham are presented as layered and complex, rather than a caricature of what they would become at the height of fame.

The reverence and respect for the real people and original material behind it all is obvious, however Frozen Love steers away from a glorified portrayal of Buckingham and Nicks. It seeks to humanise them and their relationship. When asked about the rockstar version of Stevie Nicks the public has come to adore, Banks, a life-long fan, reflected fondly on writing and playing her:

‘Stevie has said that the person she presents onstage is not who she is at home, and we had the freedom to show them as real human beings… as 24 and 25-year-olds who were just trying to figure stuff out… Stevie was working 4 or 5 jobs to support them both… Showing the grind that they went through was much more important for us.’

This raw authenticity is what lies at the heart of Frozen Love and propels it to unbelievable heights. Sat in that small, hot theatre in Surgeon’s Hall, I felt like I was witnessing the start of something special. This is a show with huge potential and a very bright future ahead of it.