DAFFODILS

Musicals are hands-down my favourite genre, and even though there aren’t that many these days, I still get excited every time I hear of the possibility of a new one. So when I heard about a one from New Zealand, I jumped at the chance to check it out.

On his death bed, Eric’s (George Mason) youngest daughter, Maisie (Kimbra) leaves him to go perform at a gig. There, she recounts her mother and father’s relationship through the music of The Lips, following their relationship from meeting in Hamilton in 1966 through the 80s.

This isn’t your typical musical - there are no dance numbers, and the musical element is very subtle. We, of course, see Maisie singing the songs on stage, but her parents are also singing in the flashbacks. While characters are singing, we cut back and forth between the scene playing out without them singing to a version of where they are now. I understand why it was done, to some extent, but if you’re going to show people singing just let them sing - don’t cut away to what would it looks like in normal life; we've already seen them belt a tune don’t go back on your musical theme. Musicals are a tough sell for a lot of audiences, so trying to slowly get you into that world is fine, but after a while, the audience is on board so just let the numbers happen.