LIFT the Musical was performed by third-year BA Musical Theatre students from the Guildford School of Acting at the Ivy Arts Centre, Guildford.
Craig Adams and Ian Watson’s LIFT the Musical crystallises around the lives of eight everyday protagonists who chance to ride in the same elevator at Covent Garden tube station. In the 54 seconds of the lift’s passage, we are taken on a much longer journey that reveals the people behind the masks they wear, the secrets they dare not speak, and the unrealised connections between them. Seen through the eyes of the ubiquitous London underground Busker, the emerging narratives can be a little overwhelming at times for their complexity; but the end result presents a rich snapshot of the reality of the anonymity of modern life in all its technologically-enabled glory.
LIFT the Musical has come far since its 2012 concept album and the stage premiere at London’s Soho Theatre in February last year. GSA’s production, possibly the most elaborate to date, utilises a two-tier set comprising the inside of a tube train, the lift itself, and part of the station concourse, and this alone is impressive. But what really brings the show to life are the ingenious projections by PJ McEvoy, relayed to a total of eight onstage video screens throughout the performance, through which aspects of the characters’ stories unfold.
This breathtaking visual spectacular is completed by Paul J Baker’s direction and Regan Shepherd’s choreography, both of which expertly rise to the challenges inevitably posed by a show that unfolds within the confined spaces of a lift and a tube carriage. It finds an ideal complement in Craig Adams’ witty lyrics, with their multiple layers of meaning, and in his score’s pleasing blend of sentimental keyboard writing and guitar-based rock, adeptly performed by a five-piece band led by musical director Barney Ashworth.
Tom Hier’s opening as the guitar-wielding Busker, leading the audience in a singalong of ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Let It Be’, ensures that the show hits the ground running and never looks back. Particularly strong performances are delivered by Ailsa Davidson as the conflicted French Teacher and Virginia Kerr as her Lap Dancer turned confidante, while Erin Caldwell’s wonderfully emotive Secretary finds a worthy match in Rhys Whitfield as Bright Young Thing, the object of her undisclosed affections.
The risqué, sexually-charged interpretation of the show’s various adult themes is certainly a bold move. At the same time, LIFT the Musical seems to be the perfect vehicle for showcasing the cast of triple and quadruple threats, and for demonstrating the potential of GSA’s students (past as well as present – both Baker and McEvoy are alumni). One belts out her number while effortlessly breaking into splits during a pole-dancing sequence. Others hold a conversation while nonchalantly striking one demanding ballet pose after another.
But the show’s true beauty lies in its being evidently greater than the sum of its parts: the eight principals, joined by a further six Avatars all of whom receive their own moments in the spotlight, are even more effective when functioning as a group simultaneously occupying different parts of the stages and screens. While one cast member dances, another sings; while one sings, another acts. Elaborate dialogues take place between characters on stage and their opposite numbers onscreen. The sophisticated part-writing of Adams’ ensemble songs is similarly executed with impressive flair.
LIFT the Musical takes a 54-second elevator journey and turns it into an entrancing web of interweaving tales of unrequited love, dual identities, relationship breakdowns, and hidden sexualities, in a show in which one minute really can last eight lifetimes.
Christopher Wiley
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