Despite arriving at Southwark Playhouse with the prestigious pedigree of having been developed by the National Theatre, Flyby is an utterly exhausting ordeal.
The premise suggests an intimate look at human connection against the backdrop of space, but the reality is a tedious domestic drama that eventually drifts into the realm of the truly ridiculous. At the heart of the show is Emily, played by Poppy Gilbert, a thoroughly nasty woman trapped in a toxic cycle with Daniel, played by Stuart Thompson.
The pair spend the majority of the show screaming at one another in a manner that makes the audience long for the silence of the vacuum mentioned in the programme. When the relationship finally collapses, Daniel decides the only "logical" course of action is to lock himself inside a spacecraft and fly away from the planet entirely. If the plot sounds silly on paper, it is even more preposterous in execution.
Quite why this slender story requires three narrators is anyone’s guess. Gina Beck, Rupert Young, and Simbi Akande are all gifted performers, but they are wasted here, forced to provide commentary on a plot that consists entirely of two insufferable people being horrible to each other.
It remains unclear what the show is actually trying to communicate. The dialogue between the two leads clearly aspires to be intellectual and profound, but the truth is that it is totally bizarre and absurd. The words mean nothing at all, and the entire production comes across as a confusing mess.
Perhaps the most painful element, however, is the music. There are no discernible melodies to speak of, only a series of incoherent sounds paired with lyrics that feel like a collection of random thoughts rather than a cohesive musical narrative. It is a long, dreary evening that offers very little in the way of entertainment or insight.
One can only hope that in some other distant galaxy, someone might be able to find something to like about this musical, because it certainly will not find many fans here on Earth.
It runs until 16 May.
Photos: Alex Brenner