For The Lack of Laura

Many of the twenty-six new songs from the show are impressive and come to the forefront, thanks to the wonderful ensemble and cast. Crae plays Tobi Kaye’s 1920s jazz and blues-inspired song from New Orleans, The Wish I Made with his voice easily dancing around the notes. Likewise, Allan, who plays Lenny Turner, has a beautiful, tender voice. I look forward to following more of his journey as an actor. In fact, I must thank this show for allowing me to tune in and identify so much new talent. Mo Lombardo, who plays the baddie, instantly captures my attention with her stage presence and enchanting voice. While pantomime in nature at times, this was a stellar performance, and we could feel things shift when she stepped onto the stage.

However, in my opinion, where Laura is lacking is in its overall development. Trying to capture so many locations is exciting but at times overwhelming. So much happens — all interesting individually — but together, it feels too much. For example, the bull fight plus Salvador, played by Keith Hanley, are highlights and represent a fantastic piece of direction by Morgan Brothers. Louis, the man-child in Paris, is played by Finn O’Callaghan, as he tries to create the perfect piece of art. Mikail played Barra Convery is a ballet star in Moscow, more often interested in his performance on stage than anything else, while Allan, played by Lenny Turner, is a quiet and stoic priest in the UK. Finally, Crae, played by Tobi Kaye, is a worker under an unfair system with dreams of creating something in New Orleans. Throw in a sub-plot of Laura’s friend Maggie’s (played by Emma Daly) love life and a past romance between Laura’s father (Cian Forde) and our evil druid, Gwendolethe.

As a result of all this, we never get to focus on the main protagonist, Laura. While destined for greatness, she is deeply loved and admired for her beauty. When Laura comes to the realisation that the love she is chasing may be surface level, we remember the quote from the film The Swan Princess “What else?” We can see that she is a good friend, a valued member of the community and a beloved daughter. These elements are pushed to the sides and used as platforms to launch a song. Regarding the moments when Laura is frustrated with love and upset about her current situation, I wonder if we would feel those moments more earned if the character and general storyline were more developed. In my view, we needed to feel the stakes more. No one offers Laura resistance to this curse. Maggie, her friend, is more resentful about her own lack of love, delivering throwaway lines about wooden spoons. We see her father at the top and end of the show. I did not even know Laura was missing until she came home. It would have been a fantastic opportunity to have had the village sing collectively about missing Laura and what she means to the community. We do not even get the chance to dive into Gwendolethe’s magic. Her past relationship with Conor, Laura’s father, is sung about briefly with a fantastic tango between both actors. But once we launch into the time travel aspect, the story becomes a bit lost, which is a shame. I wanted to hear more about the folklore, where Laura is from and why she would do this in a world that seems fairly good. With no stakes, no major focus minus magic, we have nothing to root for.