Review of musical which celebrates Eric Boswell, Sunderland composer behind Little Donkey

Review: THE DONKEY, THE WHIPPET AND THE GIANT LEEK, written and produced by Graeme Thompson and Tom Kelly, performed by Graeme Danby and Valerie Reid, The Fire Station, Sunderland

Sunderland-born songwriter Eric Boswell composed hits for Matt Monro and Ricky Valance, but will forever be associated with his worldwide Christmas classic Little Donkey.

As this thoroughly entertaining show confirms, Eric was a master of his craft and adept at writing songs to make you both laugh and cry.

His story is brought to life brilliantly by his close friends and global opera stars Graeme Danby and Valerie Reid, with an intelligent and witty script from Graeme Thompson and Tom Kelly.

Using Eric’s songs, photographs and film the show tracks his life – and often the world around him – from his early days in Millfield, Sunderland, to his final years in Northumberland where he died in 2009 aged 88.

He was the son of a tailor and seamstress, studied piano from the age of seven and then the organ, being tutored by the organist at what is now Sunderland Minster.

After completing two degrees – electrical engineering and physics – Eric started work as a scientist, working on radar for Marconi.

His leisure time was spent songwriting and he eventually gained work for a publisher on the famed Tin Pan Alley, penning I’ll Know Her for Matt Munro and Why Can’t We for Ricky Valance.

But he shot to fame when Grace Fields recorded Little Donkey in 1959, a song that revived her career with a number one hit.

Graeme and Valerie tell Eric’s story with love, affection and admiration. The couple routinely met at Eric’s Northumberland home on Sunday mornings to sing and record his songs. Some of his best songs were written for the couple.

Eric even wrote a song for their wedding, Maybe This Is Love, performed in the show, which pits Graeme’s Geordie voice against Valerie’s far more refined Scottish tones. As you’d expect with a Boswell song, there’s a twist in the tale and the accents are reversed.

More than 20 Boswell songs are performed during the show, with a superb medley closing the first act.

The second act began with my favourite song in the show, The Whippet, performed acapella in almost a whisper by Graeme cuddling a soft toy dog made by Eric himself.

Despite being a Mackem, many of Eric’s songs were about the Tyne or Tyneside, with Take Me Up the Tyne and Sweet Waters of the Tyne being perfect examples –clever, witty but with a point to make. The latter was written at a time the river awash with sewage.

But it wasn’t just about the lyrics for Eric, some of his most moving songs have beautiful melodies and they’re wonderfully performed by mezzo-soprano Valerie. The Parting was a particular favourite – but listen right to the end to catch the sting in the tale!

A word here for talented South Shields pianist Andrew Richardson who provides flawless accompaniment to Graeme and Valerie.

The show is full of nostalgia, but more importantly, it is keeping the work of a songwriting genius and his north east songbook, alive.

And who better to do it than two of his closest friends who just happen to have amazing voices and a passion for the region Eric called home?

As you’d expect, the encore was a rousing singalong version of Little Donkey, though as Graeme revealed in an interesting Q&A that closed the show, Eric felt frustrated that this was the song for which he was best known.

He believed his best work were his songs about the changing face of his beloved north east in the last quarter of the 20 th century.

And having enjoyed this great show, it’s hard to argue with that.

Tour dates

The show is supported by Arts Council funding and there are further performances at the following venues: Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham (April 23), Bishop Auckland Town Hall (April 26), Alnwick Playhouse (April 27), 17Nineteen, Sunderland (May 4), The Customs House, South Shields (May 12) and Live Theatre, Newcastle (June 21).