Review: LIFT, Southwark Playhouse
Photo credit: Mark Senior
Experiencing Lift at the Southwark playhouse is like a warm hug on a Winter's day (and yes it’s the middle of summer). Craig Adams’ eight-part harmonies wrap you up from the opening number and catch you at just the right points throughout this emotional 80-minute, one-act piece.
The audience is gathered around a small stage surrounded by 3D illuminated tube lines. All focused on a Busker (Luke Friend). Noodling on his guitar whilst the sounds of the underground build, immersing the crowd into the tight, cramped world under the streets of London and into the Covent Garden tube lift.
From here, we get to experience a snippet of each of the seven other strangers, sharing 54 seconds in a lift. From a heartbroken teacher longing for Sarah who has left for Paris, to a closeted ballet dancer and a businessman, cat-fishing through a VR dating platform.
Dean Johnson’s updates to the original book by Ian Watson, and the new orchestrations by Craig Adams, have ensured the soul of this show is still very much present, but it fits more comfortably into a 2022 world. They have adapted certain features to ensure the audience realise that everything they are seeing is a projection of the Busker. An angel who has been through so much, and wondering if these strangers have experienced the same things as him.
Subtle key changes, new added beats, extra harmonies and a cheeky bit of Dub Step in the opening number all fit perfectly and are great additions to the original score. If you already know Lift, the new song ‘Almost Everything’, though brilliantly written, may feel a bit disconnected to the rest of the show. However, if you are new to Lift, it could well become your favourite song.
The Playhouse is the perfect venue for this intimate theatrical experience. The entire cast have perfect chemistry and it is easy to feel the joy from them all whilst on stage. Andrew Exeter's simple but hugely effective production design doesn’t detract from the actors. Dan Samson’s sound fills the space and ensures every word is heard, and every harmony hit the hairs on the back of your neck.
Lift paves the way in 2013 for small, new musical theatre. It feels like an artistic painting but with music, which some patrons may find difficult to appreciate. To those who can relate to the struggles of the Busker however, it’s a timeless piece which focuses on how hard it is to say what you feel. How lying to the ones you love is easier than being honest with yourself and, above all, communication.
This simple, 13-letter word can be the hardest thing for a lot of people. It can make or break relationships. It can make you feel silent in a crowded room, or heard when in a lift with Eight others. It can mean losing the ones you love, or creating a bond for life. This show dives into the diversities of communication in all its forms. How letters can be turned into songs. And how talking in person is much harder than behind a screen.
You don’t want to miss this rare opportunity to see this piece presented in such an interesting way with an extremely talented cast.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Robin Dibben
Lift plays at Southwark Playhouse until 18 June, with tickets available here.