By Helen Musa

One of Canberra’s best-known stage performers, Janie Lawson, is about to make her directorial debut with Free Rain Theatre Company’s production of the boutique musical I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

The second longest-running Off-Broadway musical, it was originally written for four performers, but because those actors play 58 different characters, this production shares the roles among six performers: Amelia Andersson-Nickson, Sarah Copley, Connor McNaught, Deborah O’Toole, David Pearson and Sam Thomson.

Through a series of witty vignettes and songs, the show takes audiences on a rollercoaster ride through modern relationships, from first dates and dating disasters to marriage, babies, raising children and finally dating in later life.

When I catch up with Lawson, recently seen during ACT Hub’s Cabaret Festival in her self-written show DNA, and before that in Free Rain’s productions of The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Equus, I discover she’s been immersed in an entirely new experience.

After Free Rain artistic director Anne Somes, with whom Lawson has performed for many years, invited her to direct the musical late last year, Lawson didn’t simply analyse the script. Instead, she headed to the National Institute of Dramatic Art for a week-long intensive directing course.

Somes is acting as associate director on the production, but Lawson says she’s been enormously supportive, allowing her to go with her vision.

“The NIDA course was fantastic, one of the best projects I’ve ever been on. Being a director is so different from being a performer. There’s so much work that happens behind the scenes,” Lawson says. “The course gave me the tools to do the script analysis, break down the themes and really understand directing. It was directing 101.”

One lesson stood out above all others.

“You have to be very clear about your vision so you can communicate everything clearly.”

Back in Canberra and seeking advice from designer Cate Clelland, Lawson has brought that vision to life. When we speak, the company is bumping into the theatre.

“Everything’s going really well. We’re all on the same page.”

She’s equally enthusiastic about working with Louise Newey from Free Rain’s costume team to create a carefully planned colour palette.

“The costumes move through shades of red, from pale pink to deep crimson, while the set is a crisp black and white. The colourful costumes represent love, but they’re also simple enough to allow all the quick costume changes.”

It won’t be the first time Canberra audiences have seen I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. An early production toured here from NIDA with Amy Kowalczuk among the cast, and Stephen Pike revived it at The Q in 2013.

Originally written in 1995, the musical was updated in 2018 to reflect contemporary relationships, including dating apps, online dating and same-sex couples. It’s this revised version that Lawson is directing.

“When I first came across the show it struck me as being so relatable,” she says. “Some parts reminded me of important moments in my own life, but the original didn’t really reflect today’s world. The updated version includes same-sex relationships and online dating, so it’s much more relatable to a broader audience.”

The show unfolds through 19 short vignettes, each looking at another aspect of love.

For Lawson, one of the show’s greatest strengths is Joe DiPietro’s witty book and lyrics, matched by Jimmy Roberts’ wonderfully varied score.

“The music is incredibly diverse. ‘Always a Bridesmaid’ has a country feel, there are beautiful close-harmony ensemble numbers, classic music theatre songs and even touches of gospel,” she says.

“I never really thought about directing until a couple of years ago. I’ve spent most of my life performing, and with Free Rain since the mid-1990s, but Anne approached me and this just seemed like the right piece at the right time. It’s something completely different for me and I think it’ll be a unique version.”

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Free Rain Theatre Company, ACT Hub, Kingston, August 19-September 5.

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