This new musical from new company Timelapse has thrown plenty of ideas but could use just a bit of refinement to make a stronger impact.
It has to be said that this new folk musical doesn’t lack in ambition or ideas and feels very pertinent in terms of themes about what would happen in a biomedical emergency, which hundreds of years on sees only a handful of survivors living in a tower block in London.
Created by Adam Lenson, Stu Barter, Rachel Bellman, Annabelle Lee Revak, Darren Clark & Shaye Poulton Richards, the musical moves from the near present where couple Emily and Ash find themselves massively implicated in a biomedical emergency that impacts London, flashing forward to the consequences seen through the eyes of others several hundred years on.
While it is to be applauded that this is a collaborative creation from a group of talented people, it feels as though the ideas and characters could still use more depth to make it thoroughly satisfying. The way in which each scene flits from the past the present feels slightly too abrupt, not giving the audience enough opportunity to understand what is happening or how the situation came to pass. In particular, the characters of the future and the lives they have lived up until this point could use more detail.
Taking its time to settle down (the opening scene for example in which a special anniversary is hinted at but not clearly showcased ensuring the audience has to work hard to figure out what is going on), Precipice highlights themes of the environment and what we would do in a situation of doing what it takes to survive. It is certainly thought provoking and the music and lyrics in many places capture how detailed the show could be with further focus (although the song involving a monopoly board is certainly interesting), yet somehow there is a feeling that there are too many ideas to make it feel completely coherent, while the dialogue again felt frustrating in terms of tone that suggests it doesn’t quite know what to be.
The show is most certainly at its strongest when it captures the drama and conflict that emerges between the character no matter what century it is set in, showcasing that the impact on our actions towards the environment has a far longer reach. It has a intriguing science-fiction/ end-of-the-world premise that make it a refreshing musical.
This being said the cast of actor-musicians lifts the show immensely and really draw the audience into the world of their characters as much as they possibly can do. In particular, Holly Freeman as Emily and Eric Stroud as Ash highlight the increasing conflict between the couple as their jobs collide in an unexpected way in terms of the environment. Both performances show the character’s arcs perfectly and adds heart and soul to the production. Their side of the story feels more rounded and filled with drama, rather than the character’s whose story picks up in the future – although it is interesting to see the rawness and vulnerability of Isabella Marshall’s Maggie, who could have been brought more into it.
Overall, there is definitely potential to be found in Precipice – but it does need a bit more refining to make it more fully rounded, particularly in terms of ideas of character development to ensure that its bigger themes are explored more thoroughly.
By Emma Clarendon
Precipice continues to play at the New Diorama Theatre until 13th December.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️