The Ruby Dolls

The Ruby Dolls are shameless magpies, taking influences from Weimar cabaret, the passion of the tango, the dry humour of Noel Coward, African folk and the frantic vitality of Jewish klezmer music.

Their Edinburgh Festival debut, Rubies in the Attic, maybe be a cabaret, but the stories are personal. The four dolls have had very different lives: Susie was in 1927’s old school And the Animals and Children Took to the Streets, Jess is one of the Old Vic’s predictions for future writing brilliance and T brings the Afrikaan rhythms.  And Jen travelled the world, doing good.

Using storytelling and song, they reveal their roots and the adventures of their ancestors, including a Russian Jewish grandfather who ended up in London, thinking it was South Africa.

“Cabaret became interesting to us because it allowed us to combine music with theatrical storytelling,” the Dolls explain. “We were inspired by the European Cabaret of the 1930s. The more we investigated, the more we realised how rebellious and political the music was. We enjoyed the intimacy of it: you could speak to an audience and bring them into the experience. Some of us were also quite taken with the red nail varnish, seamed stockings and shiny dresses!”

They continue by emphasizing that they are not just a quick vaudeville turn. “Our theatre background is extremely important. We are theatre makers and the show is composed of a combination of our theatrical influences. We are most curious about the different possibilities of storytelling and we use a combination of puppetry, comedy, physical theatre and poetry as fits the individual stories within the show. We also have an origami seagull called Reg, who squawks. Loudly."

With cabaret and vintage fashion so closely associated, the Dolls are certainly working with the grain of the genre to develop something more sophisticated. “The focus on the past was the result of our desire to create a piece of work that was simultaneously personal and universal,” they admit. “We wanted to understand the influence of our ancestors on modern identity and to inspire the audience to engage in their own stories and ask questions about their cultural inheritance. We are hoping there will be many skeletons in many closets being excavated in the wake of our month at the Festival."

“The popularity of vintage fashion has given us a great excuse to wear some fabulous costumes and scandalous red lipstick in the daytime (our mothers don't approve) however our interest in the past is about understanding where we come from, and who we will become."

“The Ruby Dolls have a breadth of international influences in their family histories that we explore during the show. Each Doll has a musical language to help express her cultural identity and this journey through the music provides much of the soul of the piece."

"We sing in multiple languages from Yiddish to Zulu, and the arrangements and some of the songs are original. Music, and our determination to use it successfully, is one of The Ruby Dolls' founding principles. That, and it's just terribly difficult to stop us singing once we've started.”  

Assembly Roxy, 2-18 August