Fly More Than You Fall
- tabithacatlin
- Oct 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Southwark Playhouse Elephant
Following a young girls journey writing a story, whilst the world throws obstacles and how this alters her writing. Moving, emotive and modern elements. Smiley face emoji.
There is nothing better than new emerging work and Fly more than you fall definitely has potential. The story itself is moving, compelling and has a hard hitting storyline. Which at some points is a bit predictable. Along with some sparkly songs. The audience follows the young, ambitious Malia, played by Robyn Rose-Li, who is trying to write a story called 'Fly more than you fall". The story is about a bird that struggles to fly and wants to reach 'the top'.
You watch how events that occur in her life impact the story and how her relationships with friends and family inspire her characters. The environment created is like a storybook being put together, bright colours, pieces of paper and animated characters.
Staging comes across as though it is the world from Malia's perspective and her life being pieced together like a story book. In the middle of the space is a picture of her with her family in a frame and this symbolises how her family are a centre piece of her life. The space is covered with pieces of paper in pastel colours and the costumes are also mostly pastel colours to compliment the staging. The pieces of paper create wing shapes, this style of staging and the piece she is writing give an idea of Malia wanting to break free, be independent and spread her wings. This shows her adolescence: how the world around her from her eyes is wholesome, playful and childlike.
A prominent moment is at the start of act two, where you see her mind shift from the fluffy childish world to a life changing event forcing her to grow up quickly and you see how she is dealing with it. This is shown through everyone changing costumes from bright pastels to dark colours, this shows her world in her mind breaking apart, she feels vulnerable and dull. Although, the story she's writing shifts from happy to dark there is an opportunity for this beautiful story book setting made from the staging to alter to a more broken and dark vibe. This would elevate the quality of the piece, give you a closer look into Malia's mind and deepen the audience's connection to Malia.
Characters in the piece are also animated in a way that emphasises the story book atmosphere. The friends especially. Ricky, played by Sara Bartos comes across over exaggerated, embellishing the animated story book environment. She plays the air head character who brings a lot of comedy from her vacant personality and ignorance to what's going on around her. Her parents, played by Keala Settle (Mum/Jennifer) and Cavin Cornwall (Dad/Paul) also come across like pieces in her story book, the moment in the car where their facial expressions are exaggerated and the relationship between the family shines. It emphasises how important her family are to her life. The relationship between Jennifer and Paul is refreshing, Paul is the pillar who holds them together and brings joy in the hardest times, holding a smile. A very animated and comic character. Whilst Jennifer is Malia's comfort blanket and best friend. This is what gives the piece its gravity, as this successfully portrayed relationship brings the emotion and depth of what occurs in the piece.
As you watch Malia grow within the piece and how it affects her writing, the characters in the story she is putting together: Willow, played by Maddison Bulleyment and Flynn, played by Edward Chitticks are also morphed around Malia's mental state and relationships during her writing process. Willow represents Malia and her personality traits also seem to be influenced by her parents. Willow and Flynn repeat some of the lines previously said by the parents. This shows how much Malia longs for a love like her parents have. Flynn joins the story when Malia finds she has feelings for one of her friends. Willow and Flynn both enter the space by throwing confetti, it shows how they have been created and are pieces of Malia's imagination. Their acting is the most eye catching and you're drawn to them! They successfully add the cherry on top of the cake of this story book style environment.
This review could go on for pages and pages, but I would not want to ruin the show for you! I highly recommend seeing it yourself. The musical is well written, the songs are catchy and fun. The talent in the show is fantastic, especially Robyn Rose-Li as Malia and Maddison Bulleyment. It has alot of potential and would benefit from a bigger stage so the actors have more space to develop their characters more. However, they utilise the space they have well. It is emotional and there are some hard hitting moments. The story book environment is a fantastic concept, which personally I enjoy, because it has been done well. Though, there is room for more opportunity to take it further and show how Malia's world is torn apart by what happens in her life. A great upcoming musical, important topics covered and an enjoyable watch!
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