Review: LIZZIE, Southwark Playhouse

A rock musical about the true crime story of a female axe murderer is a hugely exciting premise. While Hope Mill's production of Lizzie is often thrilling, some confusing characterisation choices means that this isn’t quite the killer hit it could have been.

Lizzie The Musical first appeared in 2009, and has since acquired something of a cult status. It has a lot in common with smash hit Six (which it actually predates), with both shows rewriting history but with a feminist spin and pop rock tunes. Unlike the girl group heartbreak of Six, however, Lizzie is a much bloodier narrative. Based on a true story, the musical follows Lizzie Borden (Lauren Drew), who is believed to have killed her father and stepmother with an axe in 1892, but was found not guilty. 

From the moment the lights go up, Lizzie is a full throttle onslaught of female rage. There's heavy guitars, some serious belting, strobing lights, and plenty of fake blood. Unfortunately, the storytelling feels disjointed - it’s not always easy to figure out what exactly is going on, as more and more plot points are loosely alluded to or presented as already known. 

The story is told by four women: Lizzie herself, her sister Emma (Shekinah McFarlane), her maid Bridget (Mairi Barclay), and her lover Alice (Maiya Quansah-Breed). The characterisation of many of these figures is confusing - Lizzie herself is initially presented as afraid and unstable, before becoming a confident, remorseless killer. Emma has surprisingly little stage time, and her few appearances tell us almost nothing about her character. Perhaps most bewildering of all is Bridget, who has a strangely exaggerated Irish accent - while Barclay’s performance is strong, the direction leaves the character feeling as though she has walked straight out of a pantomime or even an amateur production of Sweeney Todd. 

Fortunately, love interest Alice is far more believable and compelling. Imbued with sweetness and integrity, she has many of the show's stand-out moments, such as the yearning ballad “If You Knew”. Six star Quansah-Breed brings a likeable tenderness to the role, and her pretty vocals stand out among the punk rock belting of most of the other numbers.

At times, the score of Lizzie is catchy, stylish, and powerful. Fierce harmonies and authentic punk rock melodies give it a distinctive flair, with the all-female band creating a brilliant wall of sound. At the same time, however, almost every song descends into a heavy rock screlt-fest towards the end. This takes away the impact of the cast’s hugely impressive vocals - with so much thrown at every song, what should be the most emotional moments of the plot struggle to stand out. The constant volume and energy of the show makes it feel a little exhausting.

Hope Mill Theatre CEO William Whelton's direction and choreography has moments of genius. The show has a clear movement language, and many of the musical numbers are staged with real creativity - particularly memorable is a sequence where the women perform witch-like dance movements around a fire. However, there are also some choices that feel out of place, especially when it comes to the characterisation. Unfortunately, Lizzie The Musical is often funny where it doesn’t intend to be - the tone of the piece is a little all over the place, making it tricky for tension to build.

Whelton also chooses to give the cast microphones in waist halters, which are pulled out for some sequences - reminiscent of the original production of Spring Awakening. There’s a lot of potential in the idea, and it could perhaps have been a great way of marking key moments or separating past and present, but in the current version of the show there seems to be no clear rationale behind the choice.

Clealry inspired by Six, the show finishes with a mash-up of all the major musical numbers performed by the cast in modern punk get-up, which audiences are encouraged to film. While it's a lot of fun, and certainly a strong form of social media marketing, this sequence does feel somewhat at odds with the rest of the show. 

With such a vocally demanding score, the cast of Lizzie have a lot asked of them. Each of the four women more than rises to the challenge. Drew, in the titular role, is a real triple threat, and is able to show off both her smooth, silky vocal tone and her powerful lungs, proving herself as a rising star of the MT world. She is complimented well by Quansah-Breed’s sweetness, while McFarlane has a commanding stage presence and strong voice. Barclay has the hardest job as Bridget, but does well with the part, committing to the comedy direction she has presumably been told to go in. All the women’s voices blend well together, and they work brilliantly as an ensemble in the group numbers. 

Set and Lighting Designer Andrew Exeter has had an excellent past couple of years, and his work on Lizzie is yet another success - the set is pretty simple, but the lighting design is a stand-out element of the show, using bright colours and jarring spotlights to combine the style of a West End musical with that of a rock concert.

While it’s great to see a story about women, told by an all-female cast and band, it does feel slightly off that this story has seemingly been written and directed by men. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but considering some of the show’s issues it’s definitely something to think about. In the website description of Lizzie, it says that the show ‘delves into her complex psyche’. In reality, while we do get some context on Lizzie’s background and motives, we learn very little about her as a person and her inner thoughts.

There’s a lot of potential for Lizzie The Musical to be a major hit - its focus on true crime gives it a wide audience, while the sapphic romance puts a fresh spin on the story. The book and lyrics could do with some rewrites, the score with a little more variety, but there’s no denying that this production is an impressive feat. If you want to witness some seriously impressive belting and get stuck into some violent female rage, you’ll have a hell of a good time. 

Lizzie runs at Southwark Playhouse (Elephant) until 2 December, before continuing on its UK tour

Image Credit: Pamela Raith

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