Stalled
Review by Katie Anna
⭐⭐
A bog-standard musical to say the least.
Liesl Wilke & Andy Marsh have co-written a musical that had the potential to be funny, relevant, and touching… unfortunately all of those elements were flushed away by a basic book and boring score.
Although some of the cast are talented, their competence is wasted on lacklustre lyrics and a predictable plot - both of these things mean that there are no stakes through the 90 minute piece. Belting ballads (albeit a little cringey and meaningless in places) that should have given me goosebumps were just very loud and angry numbers for apparently no reason. The primary cause for this is that we had no context into the character’s backstories, and so when they talk about how different they are now, we have nothing to compare it to! While understanding this may be difficult to squeeze into a one act show, my critique would be: well then don’t.
Another reason for that feedback is there were so many different demographics represented on that stage, but all were surface level stereotypes with no exploration of the complexities each one comes with. My most uncomfortable example is the young autistic girl ‘Emma’. Whether played by a neurodivergent performer or not, her portrayal was actively harmful to the entire neurodivergent community as it ONLY included the most common misunderstandings of autistic females - who are already severely underdiagnosed and accepted. I’d love to hear the research director Vikki Stone conducted and consulted on to formulate this role.
Such material also overshadowed the acting abilities of every ensemble member which is especially a shame for the likes of Grace Venus who only graduated last year and has a brilliant voice for the four lines in which it was showcased.
Seeing a movement director credited in the programme was a surprise - as most numbers had very little movement, and those that did were so simplistic there simply didn’t seem to be a need for this position.
What you might call the show’s saving grace was the set design by Emily Bestow which proved the most effective and professional aspect of the whole production.