Lizzie The Musical is a show which takes pride in going over the top. Ironically, it is based upon a true-life incident. In Massachusetts, 1892, Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother were found murdered by an axe with their daughter Lizzie as chief suspect. The mood in Hope Mill is suitably spooky—there is a coffin in the bar, and on stage, a music box plays an eerie tune while a hatchet spins around.
The musical falls neatly into two parts. The case of Lizzie Borden was the first to attract widespread media interest, even frenzy, and the trial is covered in act two. The first act concentrates on the thornier issue of possible motives for the crime. Kayleigh McKnight plays Lizzie Borden, and her shamed and revolted performance of the song "This Is Not Love" suggests Lizzie is a survivor of parental sexual abuse.
However, McKnight goes even further into full scary mode (she does a great unhinged, thousand-yard stare) to show the extent to which Lizzie is traumatised by her experiences—befriending pigeons and fantasising about ways of resolving her predicament possibly via self-harm. Lizzie’s shift into a frenzied figure of vengeance is portrayed by McKnight as a liberating, empowering experience—being bad never felt so good.
But Lizzie is not the only character with a motive—her older sister Emma (Emilie Louise Israel) is researching poisons as she resents how their stepmother has leapfrogged over the daughters when it comes to inheriting their father’s wealth. Meanwhile, neighbour Alice (Katie Tonkinson) carries a torch for Lizzie, which may give her a motive for keeping quiet about certain developments.
Although promoted as punk, the score by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt is closer to straightforward hard rock, a genre where guitarists refer to their instrument as an ‘axe’. However, the video designs by Dan Light, which are projected onto the wall of the stage, successfully convey the torn-up DIY collage effect of punk designer Jaime Reid.
Rachel Tansey’s costume designs suggest Lizzie may have been infantilised by her father. While Alice’s clothes are sophisticated and adult, including lace gloves, Lizzie’s clothing is basic and plain, more suitable for a child.
Andrew Exeter’s authentic barn set is highly adaptable. Props appearing through the central opening allow scenes to shift to different rooms, and the cast can be glimpsed through gaps in the wall becoming a thunderous chorus. The murders, with gouts of blood staining a plastic butcher’s shop blind, may be a tribute to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the blood-soaked Théâtre du Grand-Guignol .
A dark humour runs through the musical: Emma has to prompt Lizzie to remember their stepmother when announcing a reward for information about the death of their father. Lizzie’s undertaker father would trim a corpse to ensure the body fitted the coffin. Most of the humour, however, comes from Jennifer Caldwell, whose maid, Bridget, is very much in the tradition of servants who know all the family secrets. In a deep, spooky voice, she informs Lizzie her stepmother is in the house all alone and so vulnerable to attack. Caldwell prepares a cup of tea in the manner of a witch stirring a caldron.
Lizzie The Musical is not a subtle show; one song is entitled "What the f—k now, Lizzie?!". Director and choreographer William Whelton revels in pushing the lack of restraint to the maximum, aiming for full rock stadium spectacle with roving spotlights and strobe lighting and most songs ending with fevered dance routines. The cast dance even while seated. The curtain call is a full rock ’n’ roll fantasy, complete with fishnets and hotpants—the late Jim Steinman, master of Wagnerian rock, would have approved.
Lizzie The Musical is a gloriously gonzo experience, a full-blown rock epic performed by a talented cast determined to ensure the audience has a, ahem, bloody good time.
(Lizzie The Musical runs until 17 November and the performance on 31 October is a special celebratory Halloween Gala Show.)