LIFELINE

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

★★½

“has real ambition and compelling music but the theatrical execution isn’t quite there yet

‘Lifeline’ – the first musical ever staged at the UN – premieres in London with an urgent mission: to spotlight the growing threat of antibiotic resistance and critical need for responsible stewardship. However, the delivery feels a little blunt, leaning on shock tactics and healthcare hero tropes, and at times muddling its own call to action. Still, it offers flashes of real enjoyment.

Resident doctor Jess is thrown off course when her ex, musician Aaron, is rushed in for emergency surgery. As his condition worsens, Sir Alexander Fleming battles his demons as penicillin reshapes the world. Their stories collide under the spectre of antibiotic resistance – and whether Aaron, and countless others, can still be saved.

Becky Hope Palmer’s book would benefit from sharpening its key messages and character arcs. Using dual love stories to humanise the science is strong, but the balance is off: Jess and Aaron’s fraught history resolves too early, while Fleming’s thinner arc stretches on without much development. The dual timelines don’t always flow either, leaving their climactic convergence feeling underpowered. Stronger character shaping would also help moments like Layla’s big scene land with more impact. It also feels unfocused as a piece of social action, raising many issues but ultimately offering healthcare workers as the solution and sidelining the simple actions individuals can take. This perhaps offers more anxiety than hope, and undermines the piece’s intent.

Robin Hiley’s beautifully intricate, Scottish folk inflected music is the show’s great strength – lively rhythms and warm harmonies all delivered with flair by Neil Metcalfe and the six piece band. The military ceilidh is a genuine high point. However, Hiley’s lyrics don’t always land, feeling a little repetitive and clunky at times, with lots of counterpoint that loses detail.

Alex Howarth’s direction shows ambition but doesn’t always bring the characters or relationships into focus. The split screen climax is striking, though Aaron’s arc feels sidelined by then. A few choices jar, such as Fleming’s Act 1 press conference, overwhelmed by sound and light, and the frequent clambering over the set, which feels dynamic but sometimes unnecessary.

Leanne Pinder’s choreography is pitched to suit mixed abilities, but the reliance on sharp, spiky arm movements doesn’t always suit the moment. The larger ceilidh sequences are a real lift, energising the whole stage.

Abby Clarke’s set is striking but busy, filled with grids that don’t seem to carry deeper meaning. Paul Smith’s sound design hasn’t quite found its balance, with a few overpowering moments and some lost lyrics. Alice McNicholas’ costumes are attractive and accurate, though I’m not sure all of Amalia’s changes are necessary within her jumping timelines. Matthew Craigen’s lighting, however, is beautifully judged and consistently lifts key moments.

Nathan Salstone’s Aaron/Clowes is the standout of the night, with nuanced acting, gorgeous vocals, and impressive guitar work. Kelly Glyptis’ Amalia also shines, with a fluid operatic voice, razor sharp comic timing, and a welcome dose of fiery directness. Maz McGinlay’s Jess delivers solid acting and strong vocals throughout, with a knockout top note. Alan Vicary’s Fleming offers assured singing, though the characterisation feels underpowered.

The healthcare professional ensemble brings plenty of spirit and strong vocals, but their acting and movement feels amateur and can be a little distracting. The intention to honour the profession is clear but this could be achieved without compromising performance quality.

‘Lifeline’ has real ambition and compelling music but the theatrical execution isn’t quite there yet. With sharper focus and delivery, it could become the impactful piece of social change theatre it’s reaching for.

LIFELINE

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Reviewed on 2nd April 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Charlie Flint

LIFELINE

★★★★

“Sometimes quirky, often heartbreaking, but invariably mesmerising”

‘Your future self is watching you right now through your memories’. The quotation, which has wormed its way into meme status on social media, can be traced back to biomedical scientist Aubrey de Grey, but any free thinker could probably come up with a similar truism. But it does make you think – and, as a concept, it forms the backbone of Anna Jordan’s two hander “Lost Atoms”. Jordan takes it a step further and has these future memories interrupting the present and correcting where necessary. The play sets out to show how a couple’s perspective of their relationship can alter over time thanks to the conflicting memories of each character. The effect is a slightly unnerving, quite brilliant and riveting watch.

The couple is Jess (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) and Robbie (Joe Layton). The microscopic lens through which we witness their story is echoed by Andrzej Goulding’s striking set comprising a towering wall of filing cabinets, which plays with our perception of space as much as the narrative plays with time. Many times, we feel as though we are looking down from above as the back wall becomes the floor. Director Scott Graham has Sinclair Robinson and Layton crawl across the banks of drawers that slide in and out, defying gravity with ease. This is true ‘Frantic Assembly’ at its finest.

Step away from the main concept and its stylised representation, and what you have is a fairly conventional love story, albeit one with unexpectedly sad twists. The two performances are outstanding. There is an instant connection between Sinclair Robinson and Layton, further welded by a smouldering chemistry. The dialogue is easy going and often humorous until, of course, things go wrong. The second act finds us in darker territory – audible gasps can sometimes be heard from the auditorium. It seems that no stone is left unturned, as we draw closer to the love story’s conclusion, unearthing original thoughts on the themes of grief, loss, pregnancy, marriage, fidelity, aging. Other characters are skilfully introduced and made real through the silent gaps of one-sided conversations. Jess and Robbie are the only ones speaking but we can clearly hear the whole conversation in our heads.

But some of the strongest moments are the wordless ones, when the couple’s natural intimacy progresses to deep sensuality during moments of abstract choreography. With Simisolar Majekodunmi’s stark and shadowy lighting and Julie Blake’s atmospheric music, the actors again pay no attention to gravity. A bed unfolds like a drawbridge at an impossibly steep angle while the actors move with the vertiginous ease of geckos. The cabinet drawers contain not just props and costumes, but metaphors that are pulled out at pivotal moments to enhance the narrative flow.

Eventually talk turns to hopes for the future, which in turn blur into the couple’s memories. It seems that their dreams are as untrustworthy and insubstantial as their memories. Our memories often betray us, we are being told. “Fairy tales are bullshit” Jess exclaims. Jordan has given us a haunting perspective of a relationship’s arc. The only real flaw is that it does stretch it out somewhat, making for quite a long play, and a couple of scenes are difficult to follow acoustically – never mind the atoms; occasionally the actors’ words are lost in the soft-spoken moments of truth. Yet it is beautifully poetic and insightful. Messy at times. Sometimes quirky, often heartbreaking, but invariably mesmerising. Memory might be unreliable, but “Lost Atoms” is unforgettable.

Tag Archives: Alice McNicholas

LIFELINE

★★½

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

LIFELINE

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

★★½

“has real ambition and compelling music but the theatrical execution isn’t quite there yet