Review: INDIGO, Curve Theatre Leicester
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan
We are huge supporters of new writing, Besties, so were thrilled to be invited along to Scott Evan Davis and Kait Kerrigan’s new musical Indigo last night, which is currently enjoying its UK premiere in Leicester’s Curve Studio Theatre.
Indigo centres around three generations of women: Elaine, who has early onset Alzheimers; Elaine’s daughter Beverly whom she has moved in with due to her condition; and Beverly’s estranged daughter Emma, who is non-verbal and autistic. The show’s tagline “Family is a spectrum of colour and connection” is exactly what this show highlights and what is produced is something quite beautiful.
The multi-layered set designed by Andrzej Goulding represents a home, albeit a fractured and imperfect one, and his video design projected onto the scattered canvas around the space is visually excellent and impactful, paired with Jake DeGroot’s lighting design. Predominantly reflecting Emma’s reality, as an audience member, we are really given a deep and meaningful insight into the world as she sees it, resulting in quite an intense experience at times. You are thrown into the deep end from the outset and often feel like you are playing catch up as to what has happened before/where we are now, but Kait Kerrigan’s book cleverly drip feeds this information across the show’s 1 hour 40 minute duration, always keeping the audience guessing, resulting in a number of unexpected emotional gut punches throughout.
Scott Evan Davis’ music isn’t particularly memorable, but certainly helps aid the storytelling and progression of the piece. His lyrics shine in certain songs but can be a little too conversational at points, making you feel like some of the numbers are surplus padding. The five-strong band sound great in the space but it is not fully clear if they are playing off-stage or if the music is pre-recorded. It is lovely to see them acknowledged on screen during the bows though.
Catie Davis directs a superb cast, notably our three female protaganists: Katie Cailean as Emma, Olivier award-winner Rebecca Trehearn as Beverly, and much-loved actress and TV presenter Lisa Maxwell. We greatly applaud the team at Curve and Jill Green Casting for giving authentic representation to the character of Emma, and Katie Cailean (in her stage debut) shines as bright as the sun from the second she walks on stage. Despite being a non-verbal role, Cailean does sing during the show, letting us into Emma’s subconscious. Her character arc from past trauma to the current situation she finds herself in is quite staggering. Her chemistry with grandmother Elaine is incredibly heartwarming throughout, with her emotions clearly wavering around mother Beverly.
Rebecca Trehearn is the glue of the piece, yet her struggles adapting to her mother moving in with her and husband Rick and Emma crashing back into her life have clear impact with threat of fracture. Lisa Maxwell is delightful as Elaine, warm and vivacious, but fighting against the cruel hand she has been dealt. Her realisation of her condition and the embracing of it during a number with Beverly is incredibly emotional.
These three actors are brilliantly supported by Nuno Queimado as Rick, Tania Mathurin as social worker Alicia, and Hugo Rolland as local teenager Tyler. Whilst Queimado has a fairly light journey to begin with, the discovery that his wife of 10 years has a 16-year old daughter he didn’t know about plus dealing with the quick deterioration of his mother-in-law weighs heavier as the show unfolds. Mathurin is a strong, comforting presence as Alicia, the voice of reason and positivity, with her solo number very powerful. Whilst Rolland in the role of Tyler is a little confusing to begin with, his impact on the family’s lives, especially Emma’s, is lovely to witness.
The painting is nearly complete, just requiring a few touch ups to make it something truly special. A hugely promising new musical.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jenny Ell
Indigo plays at Leicester’s Curve until 19 July, with further info here.
