Review: MUTED - SHOWCASE, St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, February 4 2016

Muted started life four years ago as "After the Turn", previewing at Hoxton's Courtyard Theatre, Since then it's been rewritten and presented as a work-in-progress at the Actors' Church, Covent Garden. So, what does it look like now?

Sarah Henley's book has a rather Shakespearean narrative arc (appropriately, with the 400 years celebrations underway). Michael is an selective mute, refusing to speak since his mother's death four years earlier. He was lead singer and the engine behind Lost Boy, a rock band on their way to success at the time of the tragedy and since stalled, despite guitarist Jake's vaulting ambition. But (wait for it) Michael's old girlfriend, Lauren, has hooked up with Jake having given up on Michael - that doesn't sound good, does it? When Will, Michael's uncle and carer, invites Lauren back into Michael's life in an attempt to break through his silence, old loves and envies reignite and decisions must be made.

Though the acoustics in a huge church did not do the vocalists any favours, it's clear that this show has plenty of muscle in the writing and the performances. All the cast sing with tremendous passion, with Andy Coxon's "Rock God" high register impressive and Tori Allen-Martin's belt dialing up the power ballads to full diva status. Ashleigh Gray's clarity as the jealous, doomed mother was also impressive, but some good melodies were a bit mushy through the speakers.

It's never quite straightforward to imagine how showcases like this (put together in five days, the cast reading from books) will translate on to the stage as a fully realised musical, but it seems obvious that this one will not want for passion! Whether those highs come too frequently and would be more appreciated with some slower, more reflective numbers to balance the angst will emerge in time, as will a more pacy second half, I suspect.

But Muted promises much for the future - a contemporary, bold and original musical is coming to a stage near you soon.