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

★★★

“a funny and heartwarming production”

Claire and Lou are swiping through a sperm donor app when they’re stopped in their tracks by the substandard offerings available. As they start to consider Claire’s best friend Dan as an alternative candidate, a host of questions and concerns come to the fore. Eggs Aren’t That Easy to Make imagines one queer couple’s complicated journey to parenthood, with all the anxiety, excitement and nipple cream that comes along with it.

Four birthing balls appear on stage for an ante-natal class, then remain throughout, serving as sofas and bar stools and sitting under every scene as a reminder of the elephant in the room: babies. Once pregnancy and children have been mentioned, they can’t be unspoken; the topic lingers, waiting to pounce. The cast balance precariously on the birthing balls as conversations about cervix dilation throw them off kilter. This instability is often rendered through physical comedy, poking fun at the absurdity of pregnancy in the Instagram age. At times, Lauren Tranton’s direction tips the tone into outright silliness, with camp transition choreography that sees the cast leaping across the stage in bursts of confetti.

Claire (Rachel Andrews) is a bit freaked out by pregnancy, so she’s glad that Lou (Esther Carr) is so keen to carry their child. The pair are affectionate and tactile, but feel new and on-edge as a couple, missing the grounded ease of a truly long-term partnership. Dan (Tom Kingman) is hilariously awkward and disarmingly enthusiastic about taking on the role of “baby daddy”, as he puts it. Sophia Rosen-Fouladi delivers the stand-out comic performance as the ante-natal teacher Laura, whose pointed focus on pronouns and insistence on jungle music strikes a perfect balance between self-awareness and obliviousness. She also plays Naomi, Dan’s firmly child-free girlfriend, whose perspective it would have been interesting to explore in greater depth.

Maria Telnikoff’s script offers a palatable blend of wit, silliness and heart, but it also contains some distracting inconsistencies. For instance, the couple attend ante-natal classes before they’ve even begun fertility treatment. Dan’s actions so clearly over-step the agreed boundaries that there’s no real tension in the conflict, as it’s clear who is in the right, and the more interesting nuances of the grey area between sperm donor and parent are underexplored. Even when Claire and Lou argue, the stakes feel low – no one is actually pregnant yet, in fact, they haven’t even made it to their first fertility check-up. These issues snagged, and along with a few lighting choices that left characters obscured, gave the production a slightly amateur feel.

I’m a sucker for a romcom, but here the framing ultimately holds the piece back from a more incisive exploration of IVF, friendship and queer relationships. Instead, the show sits somewhere between a truly farcical comedy about the absurdity of artificial insemination, and a probing investigation of an unusual family set-up, never fully committing to either. It may not dig as deep as it could, but it is a funny and heartwarming production.

Tag Archives: Review

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