‘Hilariously inventive yet deeply moving choose-your-own-adventure show that didn’t leave a single dry eye in the room’ - REVIEW
From the hilarious socially awkward interactions to a beautiful love story unfolding before your eyes - ‘Les Be Honest’ there wasn’t a dry eye left in the room. Kirsty-Louise Card reviews the latest musical performed at Birmingham Royal Conservatoire.
I must admit when I first heard the idea of a choose-your-own adventure musical - I was intrigued and… perhaps a little nervous for the cast who had to pull it off.
I am no actor - nor am I in any way musically gifted - so the idea of having to remember two storylines for the same show that could change direction at any point seemed a big task. But for the cast of Les Be Honest - which opened for its first of three unique shows on March 24 - it looked effortless.
In some ways the show felt like it started before it even began as Twink, played by Elle Monroe (she/her) with hilarious sass, setting the tone in the evening as I sat down in the immersive space dressed to look like the interior of a restaurant - or cafe - depending on audience dictation.
The got off to a quick start once everyone was settled in the intimate space - after brief introductions and the powerful vocal stylings of narrator Shan Orris (she/they). Shan captured everyone’s attention with their quick wit throughout, including comical interactions with the band that left me wiping tears from laughing too hard from under my specs. There was the odd moment from Shan where I thought ‘was that a mistake or a joke in the script?’ - who knows, but if they were errors, they were so well styled out they could have been scripted. A testament to their professionalism, if so.
While most theatre productions are performed in larger settings, the limited space of the Lab the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire really helped the audience feel like they were part of the show - and made you feel the tension in the socially-awkward ‘first date’ (or is it?) moments between Rose (played by Hannah Stobart, she/her) and Lani (played by Jamie-Lou, she/they) that anyone can relate to as the show. Although, I do feel where I was sat was slightly awkward as some of the set was behind me and I felt in the way at times.
When it came to relating to the characters - I’m not able to sit and say I will ever fully understand the life experiences of lesbian women, not being one myself - however, the characters are not the stereotypes you usually see in other productions so you could find something to relate to. I could relate to Rose’s bookish and nerdy nature - while also seeing my loud and brash northern attitude in Lani. Kudos to writer Ellen Davies (she/her) and director Kai McNamee (they/them), who had previously mentioned wanting the show to tell queer stories that anyone could relate to and understand, as I believe they achieved just that.
Emotional twists and turns, from admitting feelings to a tense homophobic verbal assault from ‘drunk Sam’ (played by Lily Rugg, she/they), were all chosen by the audience by holding up orange and blue menus and by the end there was not a dry eye left in the room! Just a quick glance around the room and I could see so many people wiping a tear away.
As the cast took the final bow, the crowd immediately stood up for a standing ovation! I even overheard some conversation about its potential for a tour on the way out, which I agree, it deserves more than just three nights!
4.5 STARS!
Les-Be-Honest: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Musical comes to LAB at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from March 24–26, with performances at 7.30pm.
For updates, follow @lesbehonest_musical on Instagram.
