Flyby, now running at Southwark Playhouse, is about space, and an astronaut who broke free in a capsule during a space programme. Daniel Defoe (Stuart Thompson) is his name, and we first meet him moving in with his girlfriend, Emily (Poppy Gilbert), with worries on his mind.
In a brilliant set by Libby Todd led by video design and cleverly-paced lighting by Ben Jacobs, this musical is produced and performed at a heightened pace by the couple at its centre. What, when and why?
Around them, a chorus of three (Rupert Young, Gina Beck, Simbi Akande) observe, narrate, and comment about small acts of cruelty that have shaped Daniel, about Emily being a high-achiever, around the events leading up to the loss of the ‘Ostrich’ capsule.
The small orchestra are excellent, but the singers feel over-miked at times for such a small space. Solo songs allow more freedom for emotional connection, but group pieces often lose the lyrical clarity to move the story along.
Now and then, story choices perplex: Emily’s film director father and his views on fidelity; an incident in a car park when Daniel was 7-years-old. We are told Daniel passed more than 20 psychiatric evaluations during his training, but we don’t see the evidence of a stable, rational man.
The music is sometimes Sondheim-lite, sometimes discordant and abrasive. It fits the themes of desire, gravity, and recklessness, and has some motifs that repeat and overlap.
Co-created by Theo Jamieson (writer) and Adam Lenson (director and video designer), Flyby is not a musical with high kicks and a warm glow. It focuses on the intensity of a relationship between two people damaged by their past choices and experiences.
There are allusions to porn addiction, getting off on the abuse of power at work, using love and attraction to hurt each other, running scared, and family disconnection.
Both Daniel and Emily are fiercely intelligent and in demanding careers. She is an emerging film producer in the shadow of a boss who sounds like The Devil Wears Prada‘s Miranda twinned with Cruella de Vil. She’s grown up to recognise cruelty as strength.
Do we really find out why Daniel took the craft and disappeared? I’m not sure, and the ending (referencing 2001?) muddies the waters with a surreal nod to a story he told us earlier.
Flyby offers something different, but leaves the audience having to connect a lot of the dots to work out Jamieson’s intention. It’s a brave step into the unknown as befits its subject, even if it leaves us a little puzzled.
I’m giving this 2.5 stars in its current form.
Flyby continues at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 16 May with tickets here.
I reviewed the final preview on 15 Apr by permission of the PR.