Marie and Rosetta: Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu give a stunning vocal performance

Anyway, between the thrilling songs, the history of a woman who endured racism, sexism and even the disapproval of her own church is painstakingly reiterated, along with some lore about how the blues grew out of gospel. The show is set in a funeral home, ostensibly in Mississippi in 1946, where the tremulous Marie has been tasked with doing Rosetta’s makeup before they perform together for the first time. This being the segregated South, they’re playing to black audiences in barns and are barred from hotels. They’re sleeping in coffins and relying on their white driver-cum-cook to defray hostility from the authorities.