Indigo – Curve Leicester

The cast of Indigo at Curve Leicester. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Indigo continues at Curve Leicester until 19 July 2025.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

New musical Indigo has recently made its UK premiere at Curve Leiecester, the latest offering in the venue’s ongoing effort to shine a light on new writing. The show comes from American writers Kait Kerrigan and Scott Evan Davis, and comes to us following an initial tryout in Ohio in 2023. The musical tells the story of three generations of women, their individual struggles and perspectives on the world, and explores how art and the senses can bring connection, particularly to people who see the world a little differently.

Autistic non-verbal teenager Emma (played by Katie Cailean in her professional stage debut) is mourning the loss of her father, and shows us her inner world where she experiences the world as a range of colours. Elsewhere, married couple Beverly (Rebecca Trehearn) and Rick (Nuno Queimado) are moving Beverly’s mother Elaine (Lisa Maxwell) in to live with them, after Elaine has shown signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Elaine’s condition worsens, bringing Emma and her care worker Alicia (Tania Mathurin) into their lives, and revealing secrets that shake the foundations of Beverly and Rick’s marriage, forcing Beverly to face the choices she made earlier in life.

Indigo, directed by Catie Davis, tries hard to tackle some heavy themes, most of which are rarely seen in musicals, and for that alone it is to be commended. Seeing a depiction of an autistic non-verbal teenager dealing with grief and an uncertain future is a humbling and rather moving experience, and something theatre can explore in a way that no other form can. The use of colour throughout the show, Emma’s grounding sense of security and expressiveness, is used beautifully and with great thought, and gives the show a unique identity all its own.

Where the show falters is in its writing (book by Kerrigan), and although the themes undertaken are admirable, the execution is often clunky, with dialogue that doesn’t feel natural and ultimately gives the show more of a ‘soap opera’ feel that it deserves. Dramatically it doesn’t quite get the balance right between its characters; Emma is by far the most interesting character, her world the least explored by far, and too often the attention is taken back to the characters around her. Davis’ score is equally patchy, capturing the tone of the show but delivering few standout moments or memorable melodies. New musicals live or die on the impact they make, and while Indigo excels in its visuals, it needs work elsewhere.

There is however some fantastic production design on display, with a clever set (Andrzej Goulding) which not only looks great but is also used cleverly too. There is some beautiful projection and video design (again by Goulding), which coupled with Jake DeGroot’s lighting make for some really beautiful moments, capturing the rich and colourful inner world that Emma inhabits and shares with us.

Cailean shows no signs of this being her first professional show, and is hugely touching as Emma. Communicating so much when saying so little is no easy task, and Cailean manages through her body movements and facial expressions. It’s a remarkable debut and indicates exciting things for her future career.

Trehearn remains one of Theatreland’s finest performers and brings her usual A-game as Beverly. It’s a shame the songs aren’t strong enough to really give Trehearn ‘a moment’, but she still delivers some impressive notes. Mathurin also stands out as straight-talking care worker Alicia, standing for no nonsense and making a strong impression. The script doesn’t give her much to work with, but Mathurin somehow succeeds.

Indigo has a huge amount of heart behind it, and it’s fantastic to see a new musical tackling more diverse subjects and representing parts of our society which are often overlooked. Some strong performances make this heartwarming show worth a watch, and with some fine tuning of the writing and score, it could become something really special.

Rob Bartley