Review: Fly More Than You Fall (Southwark Playhouse Elephant)
- All That Dazzles
- Oct 24, 2024
- 7 min read
Review by Daz Gale
⭐️⭐️
A new musical flies into Southwark Playhouse Elephant (not to be confused with a certain elephant that can fly) as Fly More Than You Fall gets its UK premiere for a limited run. With a buzz around it and an impressive group of names attached to the project, expectations are understandably high for this musical – but would it be able to soar to dizzying heights or would it fail to take off?
Fly More Than You Feel is set around aspiring writer Malia, whose world is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As she attempts to come to terms with this devastating news, she finds solace and strength in her writing as her imagination creates the story of a bird named Willow, representing her own struggles as she navigates the journey of grief.
When it comes to theatre, musicals are my biggest passion – and experiencing new musicals is one of my favourite things when it comes to being a reviewer. From watching the premiere of a new show or even seeing a workshop, nothing gives me a greater joy than falling in love with something new for the first time, and that excitement of never knowing when you are about to stumble upon a new favourite. With that in mind, to write a negative review about a new musical is never something I want to do but, rather sadly, Fly More Than You Fall is plagued with issues that stops it reaching the sky.
Though it deals with some heavy and serious themes, especially grief, Fly More Than You Fall is a surprisingly light show, representing the hope we can find in the darkest of places. To that end, the message of this show is admirable – however, something has been lost along the way. Writers Eric Homes and Nat Zegree both lost a parent to cancer at an early age which makes this a deeply personal story for them both, and the nuggets of truth are spread throughout the show, but the connection struggles to come through, leaving a show that comes across cold and distant.
There are several factors that stop Fly More Than You Fall from taking off, with the writing being one of the biggest. Feeling under-developed throughout, it is full of one-dimensional characters not fleshed out enough for anyone to invest in, with several characters feeling like they are all in completely different shows – none more so than the odd characterisation of Malia’s father, Paul. Conversations taking place over text with characters reading out their emojis and the overuse of “speech bubble” feel tacky and unnatural, as if they only exist to appeal to a younger generation who may well find the whole thing cringe worthy. It also detracts from the actual writing of the show which deserves better than a cheap gag about an emoji, and I say that with a sad face emoji.
Fly More Than You Fall also feels disjointed in its writing, with Malia’s story about Willow not quite gelling with her reality in a way you would like two parallels to work. There is an ironic mirror between Malia's struggle to write and the writing on offer here. Plot points throughout don’t land in the way you would expect, particularly when it comes to the story of Malia’s mother Jennifer. Though this has powerful moments as she nears the end of her life, tThe choice to have a short time jump from act one to act two means we never see the climactic event that dominates the first act. While it may have been too painful to witness, I felt like it was integral to the story and to skip past this pivotal moment felt like a disservice to the story and was one of the reasons why the show failed to connect. Though there is no right or wrong way to deal with grief, the aftermath of this event feels all too cold – not just from Malia but from the show in itself. This is a show that only works if you feel something – perhaps it speaks more about the heartless person I am, but I struggled to feel at all.
The music in the show feels wildly inconsistent with a few decent songs mixed in with some more forgettable ones. The title number ‘Fly More Than You Fall’ is a real earworm and will find itself stuck in your head, but that may be because it is repeated on multiple occasions throughout the show – dare I say it is repeated a bit TOO much? A few great moments throughout show the huge potential this show has with ‘Here’ another musical highlight. However, early act two number ‘The Worst’ proves an apt title, never feeling quite good enough and becoming fairly annoying as it progresses. The music can prove repetitive and a bit undercooked at times, with numbers blurring into each other so you never know whether this is a new song or the 17th reprise of the title number. A bit more definition between them and tightening up of the numbers would do wonders for the show, with many of the lyrics full of clunky rhymes, letting the overall standard down.
Fly More Than You Fall also suffers from confused direction. The show is regularly plagued with awkward silences and a pacing issue that never seems to improve. I felt like the direction here was not meticulous enough, with members of the cast at times looking blankly as if they had not been given clear direction in what to do at that moment. There was also the overwhelming feeling that this show has been drastically under-rehearsed, which is frustrating when attending a press night as it may prove to be a lot stronger and tighter in a week’s time. However, I can only review the performance I saw myself and I couldn’t shake the feeling that this is a show that should still be being workshopped and isn’t ready for a paying audience just yet.
The set is designed to resemble a birds wings in a clever nod to Malia’s story about Willow. While it may have been a good idea on paper, it is the paper that lets it down, stuck on the stage in a realisation that ironically didn’t quite stick. Visually, it wasn’t stimulating enough to sustain the show and may have improved with lighting tricks – this all comes down to how under-directed the production feels. The most interesting part of the set design was a small revolve – rather bafflingly, this was only used twice in the show to resemble a car journey in sequences that felt wholly unnecessary. There are some decent sound tricks featuring pre-recorded voices playing out through the theatre in what initially feels ethereal. The goodwill of these moments prove undone from their overuse, leaving me wondering why I was listening to pre-recorded voices when there were live actors on that stage. The choreography on offer never quite seems to match the tone of the show, never feeling as slick as compatible as I would like, and making the bigger ensemble sequences underwhelm somewhat.
The strongest aspect of Fly More Than You Fall is that of its talented cast. The main draw here is star of the West End, Broadway and now best known for her scene-stealing turn in The Greatest Showman, Keala Settle as Malia’s mother, Jennifer. Seeing Keala in such an intimate space like Southwark Playhouse Elephant makes the experience feel incredibly special – she truly is a powerhouse performer and when she does get to sing, her heavenly vocals bring this show to new heights. She is massively underused though to the degree that she is completely absent in the second act. While this may be necessary to the story, it felt like a waste of her talent and also the character to have her not even make a fleeting appearance in the second act be it in a dream, as a ghost or as Jennifer’s long lost identical twin sister (I may have been watching too many American soaps).
The biggest focus on this show falls to Robyn Rose-Li as Malia. A phenomenal talent in herself, she manages to uplift the material through her own abilities, though suffers from the confused choices in the writing and her character’s journey not being as clear-cut as hoped. Maddison Bulleyment gives a joyous turn as Willow with Max Gill a standout as the woefully underused Caleb. It is the scenes between Malia and Caleb that prove the most captivating with an interesting chemistry between the two, more so than that of Malia and her love interest who seems to come and go as he pleases. Cavin Cornwall is a remarkable actor but suffers from the strange characterisation he finds himself in with Paul, who appears to be in a show completely different to everyone else. Having an actor of his calibre stifled by creative choices is a frustration that repeats itself throughout the show.
What is most frustrating about Fly More Than You Fall is that this can very clearly be a good show – with the right care, this could be incredible. Not just that, with its message of dealing with grief and retaining hope, this could be a vital lifeline for so many going through similar situations. The potential this show has is limitless, but it is not there yet – not by a long shot.
This was a particularly tough review to write as I can see the potential in Fly More Than You Fall - there is a beautiful story nestled away in here - one that has the power to resonate and offer comfort to anyone who has been in the situation. A tremendous cast bring the show to new heights but issues with the writing and production prevent this from soaring. Where the show undoubtedly has wings, it is not quite ready to fly just yet and needs homing in, meaning in its current form, Fly More Than You Fall sadly fails to land.
Fly More Than You Fall plays at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 23rd November.
Photos by Craig Fuller
