Edinburgh Fringe: Streets The Musical – TheSpace@Surgeons Hall
Book: Finn Anderson
Music: Finn Anderson
Director: Finn Anderson
Reviewer: Deborah Klayman
The Public Reviews Rating: 
Billed as “gritty and hard-hitting”, Streets The Musical is sadly neither of these, performed without any kind of edginess or meaningful social commentary. With some lacklustre vocals and an underdeveloped plot and lyrics, this piece lacks the ability to ask hard questions about the plight of young people today and instead parades a range of caricatures and unimaginative stereotypes who sing fairly well.
Essentially this is a musical about Robyn (Amy Rayner), a teenage girl whose poor self-esteem traps her in a relationship where she is used and peer pressured into dealing drugs. When new boy Jason (Liam Vincent Kilbride) moves to town she gathers the gumption to leave boyfriend Rick (David Stobbie), but she and the other characters are dragged in and held to ransom by manipulative drug pusher Skinner (Finn Anderson).
Filled with mostly two-dimensional characters the story becomes both predictable and uninteresting, and it is very hard to care about them or their journeys. There are some strong songs, but equally there are those that could have been shortened or removed, which might have happened had the director not also been the writer of both the music and lyrics.
Despite its faults, what this musical does do well is showcase the immense talent that is Rosemary Stanford in the role of Joni. Pitch perfect in vocal and performance, a role that could have been played just for laughs is given depth and gravitas, and the moments where she was onstage were an absolute pleasure to watch. With such a strong character in it, and with several good songs, this musical does have potential but needs a lot more development in order for that to be realised.
Until 11th August
Edinburgh Fringe: Streets The Musical – TheSpace@Surgeons Hall,Tags: 2012, EdFringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Finn Anderson, Musical Theatre, New Writing, Rosemary Stanford, Streets The Musical, theSpace@Surgeons Hall
