Fringe Review: LISA! THE MONA LISA MUSICAL, temple at C ARTS | C venues | C aquila
Photo credit: We’re Gonna to Be a Dad!
Lisa! The Mona Lisa Musical follows the untrue and untold story of when Lisa (of Mona fame) decided to go forward in time to stage a heist on her own portrait at the Louvre in an effort to prove to her husband that she can be important and loved by society. What follows is a hilarious, fast-paced musical, packed with great songs and a bunch of brilliant and bonkers characters.
Xavier Fawcett’s book is hilarious, with plenty of great musical theatre references without being reliant on them for its humour. The show’s characters also all go on journeys and for a show that runs at around an hour, it is remarkable how much character development and plot is fit in without anything feeling rushed. The time travel plot does get a little confused towards the end, but this just gets turned into a joke - after all, when has a time travel plot ever made perfect sense? The score (lyrics by Fawcett, music by Fawcett and Finlay Stafford) is perhaps one of the best we’ve heard at the Fringe this year (‘Time Heist’ is a particular highlight) and we’ll be needing a full cast recording as soon as possible. Fawcett also directs the production and they have made the show incredibly slick and polished, with enough moments of stillness to allow for the emotional beats of the show to land amidst the comedic chaos. Whilst the show has clearly been influenced by similar shows, such as Operation Mincemeat, it has its own unique style and voice, and never feels like its ripping anything else off.
Sophia Holmes gives a remarkable performance as Lisa. Her vocals are utterly sublime - some of the best vocals we’ve heard at the Fringe so far. She is a strong and feisty leading lady. She is very expressive, with great stage presence and brilliant rapport with her co-stars. Charlie Sharpe is endearing as Salai, Leonardo Da Vinci’s sidekick/assistant. His musical number in the second half of the show is particularly moving. Xavier Fawcett leads musical numbers with confidence and charisma as Pablo (yes, of Picasso fame) and Jack Dalton proves himself to be a fantastic character actor with strong comic timing. Ed Ramsey completes the cast - he’s at his best when playing Leonardo Da Vinci and develops a beautiful rapport with Holmes’ Lisa.
Lisa! The Mona Lisa Musical is an outstanding new comedy musical that definitely seems to be the sleeper hit of this year’s Fringe - it deserves to be on a bigger stage and seen by far more people. The production could be put into a West End theatre pretty much as it is and it wouldn’t feel out of place, and we’re sure theatre company We’re Gonna Be A Dad will soon be the next big thing.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush