Part of that story, drawing on the autobiography Holiday co-wrote, Lady Sings the Blues, tells of her love of collaborating with bands (so Newman shares the stage with a trio), of the blues and of Louis Armstrong’s trumpet. She wanted to sound like a horn and be a band member rather than a star vocalist. Newman says she has tried to find her own way of doing this, and believes this makes for a more rounded performance than simply impersonating Holiday.

Holiday’s life, beginning with being jettisoned by her parents and then being raped at 10, piled tragedy on trial in a way that would have broken many, and yet she still managed to emerge as one of the 20th century’s greatest singers.

Newman emphasises that Holiday didn’t see herself as a victim: “She’s got a lot of really dark, sharp thorny humour that is attached to the way she perceives the hardships and challenges she’s been through … She wasn’t great because of all the terrible things that happened in her life. She was great! There’s a consciousness from us, the team behind the show, to make sure we’re not pathologising a mythology around trauma and pain.

Loading

“She connected to lyrics in a really intimate way and was able to filter them through herself, but she was more attracted to having a great band, and I think she just loved to sing with bands and make music.”

In finding her own way of getting inside Holiday, Newman’s collaboration with director Mitchell Butel has been crucial.

“As a performer I really depend on that outside eye,” she says, “and need to feel a real sense of security that that person is looking after you, because there’s only so much you can do. You’ve got your instincts on stage, but you’re not going to see it, unlike when you’re in a play with a bunch of people, and you can sit outside and see how the story is unfolding, and you get a sense of where you fit into that story.

“But when you’re on stage the whole time, you don’t get that. I think that it actually brings out the best in both the performer and the director. We have to push each other to come up with the best version.”

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill: Belvoir St Theatre, September 14 to October 15.

The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.