An improvised musical? The concept seems risky in Suddenly! A Musical, PlayShop’s 13^th production. Long-form improvisation is nothing new but executing it via the musical genre, where most of the plot and story develops through song, seems like a uniquely challenging prospect. Without the use of short sketches and games, the actors must sustain a plot and develop characters for the whole hour: a very demanding task.  

It is to the great credit of everyone involved that Suddenly! A Musical works on multiple levels. For a start, the actors throw themselves into the performance with gusto, creating a defined individual character straight away and developing them to varying degrees throughout the hour. Together Pippa Drakeford, Amy Griffin-Browne, Tom Hutchison, Sam Irwin, Sabrina Martin, Jonny Paul and Matt Powell make for a formidable collective. They understand the need to tell a cohesive story and listen, respond and support each other at all times. 

Director Jennifer O’Sullivan sets the scene by entering the stage dressed as (in her words) a “Phantom of the Technicolor Dreamcoat”. With her opening audience interaction, she warms the crowd up and explains how the evening is going to play out. Andrew Lloyd Webber appears to be the inspiration for the type of musical Playshop will improvise, and the idea of somewhere life-changing from an audience member will define each evening’s setting.

Throughout the show O’Sullivan sits stage right with the musicians, offering suggestions and guidance for the actors to riff off where necessary. With the aim of keeping the show to a run time of sixty minutes, her role is vital in the progression of the performance.

On this opening night, an audience member provides the idea of a musical based around a lake house. A generic company number about the lake house opens the musical, before a story begins to unfold involving two distinct narrative threads.

Firstly there is the wealthy lady of the manor, Mrs Fitzgerald (Amy Griffin-Browne) and her servant Jonathan (Samuel Irwin), whose life on the lake begins to be threatened by the arrival of Damian and Gerald Marbeck (Jonny Paul and Matt Powell), two property developers who wish to build a hotel in the sky overlooking the lake. Themes of class and modernity permeate their scenes.

Secondly, there is a party and love triangle evolving in the lake between three fish. Tom Hutchison and Sabrina Martin’s fish are in a relationship, but the arrival of Pippa Drakeford’s fish at the party creates all kinds of conflict. This culminates in a hilarious fish dance-off and a few memorable musical numbers.

This is a less traditional type of setting for a musical, but the actor’s commit fully to their characterisations. Pippa in particular draws consistent laughter from this audience as the spurned lover. The lighting provided by Mary Little (and designed by Darryn Woods) effectively portrays this underwater world, contrasting with the land-based scenes above the lake.

Liam Kelly and Tilomai Matafeo-Solia drive and complement the action within each scene, providing suitable music for the actors to improvise off. Their accompaniment is effective in allowing the actors to create suitable lyrics for whatever scenario they find themselves in. Liam primarily plays the keys (with the occasional foray on the xylophone) whilst Tilomai plays the guitar and box drum. They are a crucial element within the performance, and it is testimony to their effectiveness that many people will not know that this is their first time performing together in a PlayShop show (for Liam this marks his debut with the company). Be it a rousing ballad or a melancholy number, they read each improvised scene with pace and skill, allowing them to instantly provide music which accurately reflects the developing storyline. 

It is evident throughout Suddenly! A Musical that the seven actors on stage are extremely comfortable working together and have the skills to deal with anything that may be thrown at them. The energy and vibrancy of the ensemble shines through. They demonstrate a high level of discipline and impressive memory skills, incorporating and referring to what has gone before much later in the piece.

If there is anything I might like to see, it would be for each of the cast to play multiple roles. I certainly think they would have been able to pull it off, but perhaps the constraints of a one-hour performance work against this idea. There were also a couple of times where I felt the music continued where it wasn’t necessary and perhaps distracted from more serious moments of conversation between the characters.

Suddenly! A Musical promises a completely different experience each night. So if the idea of a totally improvised musical decided by the audience appeals to you, I can only recommend that you check this out. If you are a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, this is a very different experience, but one which pays loving homage to his work through the form of improvisation. Sustaining a plot and developing characters for a whole hour via this long-form format is very challenging. It is a testament to the skills of the performers, direction from Jennifer O’Sullivan and dedication of everyone involved that PlayShop deliver once again.

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