Idle Women at Brighton Open Air Theatre

The weather could not make its mind up as a large crowd formed at the Brighton Open Air Theatre to witness Busy Lizzie’s acclaimed Idle Women, but the indecisive rain didn’t stop punters from reveling in the small but mighty new musical.

Idle Women is set along the Grand Union Canal during World War II, and tells the story of four women as they navigate the challenges of being a working woman in the early 1940s. It is devised largely by the company, and the community spirit of creation weaves its way onto the stage, and aides the audience along on the journey.

The set-up is unique and interesting, and though, at times, the show loses pace and meanders into muddy territory, for the most part it’s riveting and largely inspiring piece about some unsung heroes that provided an important service during a difficult time in our country’s history. It’s themes of friendship, sexuality, gender and purpose resonate wonderfully with today’s audiences, and the historical setting of the show makes it much more accessible to a wider spectrum of theatregoers. The show runs a tad too long at two and a half hours including an interval, and could do with a trim of some excess material to ensure the show runs smoothly. Whilst I’m sure that things weren’t always fast-paced and mega interesting on the boat at all times, this is a musical, and audiences don’t have the attention span to know every detail about the day-to-day of working on board.

The score is rather interesting, with some brilliant folk-style & Noël Coward-like pastiche moments, including a beautiful first act number, Bright Young Things, performed by the brilliant Catriona Judt as Ruth with an almost Lotte Lenya inspired interpretation, about the adventure of a night out in seedy 1940s Soho. There’s a point in act two, however, where the music turns a bit too rock-pop with the introduction of Alfred, played with a dreamy subtlety by Aaron Coomer, a German bomber-pilot who crash lands on the butty boat. These numbers feel ever so slightly out of place, yet with some shaping I believe the score could stand among some of the greatest folk musicals.

The rest of the cast deliver efficiently, especially Maple Preston-Ellis, who performed the role of Meg with a quiet sparkle, and had the audience moved with each line she delivered. And, even though technical issues threatened to put a damper on the evening, the cast performed defiantly against them, and put on a show that is one to remember.

Idle Women is on track to being big. With the team that work on it putting so much of themselves and their passion into the creation of it, I see this musical standing on stages far bigger than the grass-covered Open Air Theatre. And with the way that the show keeps growing and shifting with each new performance, people are going to be talking about Idle Women as the little show that could for years to come. If you get a opportunity to see the musical, in any stage of its development, I would jump at the chance as you will be able to find something within the material that you resonate with, and you’ll be able to walk away from the show and talk about it for hours afterwards.