A new British musical makes its world première
6 / 10
On paper, it really isn’t the most obvious book to turn into a musical, but somehow it just about works. Butcher and Ling’s songs are enjoyable, with some real toe-tappers like “Uma Vida” peppered throughout; though not a complete measure of a song’s quality, none are particularly memorable – “The Little Big Things” only sticks in your head on the way out of the theatre because it’s the last song you hear (and the chorus is repeated multiple times). Employing a pop-rock score is an interesting choice – and definitely grounds the action in the late noughties – but ultimately means many of the songs are rather samey.
