★★★
Beginning with 'She Meets Him/One Minute', bringing the entire company into the lift, the audience immediately get a taste for the nature of the show. Though the overlapping of voices sometimes made understanding the words difficult, in each track, the lyrics are clever and thoughtful (and often seemed a little reminiscent of Be More Chill). In turn, each character portrays their own journey, of which it's unknown whether it is true or dreamt of. Due to this, the names of each person are frequently muddled, which makes following their narratives mixed, trying to figure out who's who.
The overall concept is definitely commendable, and the cast certainly do it justice. Luke Friend becomes the busker, who sits and plays the audience in as they arrive, and bookends the show, since it is his visions with which we are presented. Marco Titus appears to play the boss of Hiba Elchikhe, while Kayleigh McKnight is navigating life after recent struggles with her girlfriend, when she finds Tamara Morgan, who plays both a dominatrix in this scenario, and best friend to Cameron Collins, who plays a budding ballet dancer. In other scenes, Cameron's character is seen coming to terms with his sexuality, and uses VR dating, whereby Chrissie Bhima and Jordan Broatch do a fantastic job at becoming their computerised avatars.
Choreographed by Annie Southall, and with impeccable lighting use, Lift uses the stage to a tee. Bright colours often contrast the dingy grey metal, and movements make the most of the space given.
Written by Ian Watson and directed by Dean Johnson, Lift has promise, but perhaps needs a little refinement. Key moments are lost, but it's apparent there is meaning there, attempting to grasp more depth. With hope, there will be a future production of this musical that incorporates everything already there, with some extra considerations to draw the show together a bit more.
Comments