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Public: The Musical music review – Bog-standard soap opera-esque fare

Faultless vocal performances mask a slightly hollow story about being nice to people

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Public: The Musical music review – Bog-standard soap opera-esque fare

Four disparate people find themselves stuck for an hour in a gender-neutral public toilet. They begin as very different people, not particularly understanding of each other: Jo the overbearing activist, Laura non-binary and people pleasing, Finley nervy and closed off, and Andrew all swaggering machismo and old-school views. Gradually over the hour they open up to each other and that’s really about it. While you’d be daft to get stuck in a loo, bathrooms generally have great acoustics and are great for singing.

The performances are faultless, all parts are perfectly executed and the singing spot-on: Andrew Patrick-Walker, in particular, has spectacular range. The script, however, is sweet but simplistic, of course it’s all about the importance of accepting people’s differences but it has more of a soap-opera vibe than great theatre. But it’s a piece that would be perfect as an educational tool for high schoolers; without the c-bombs of course.

Public: The Musical, Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 6.30pm

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