Buried: A New Musical

Buried is a new musical which tells of serial killers, Rose and Harry meeting, think Bonnie and Clyde for the Iphone generation! Whilst they meet both trying to kill the other, they bond over their common interest and soon a relationship of sorts develops. The path of true love however never runs smooth and when there are serial killers involved it’s even more complex!

The overall story of Buried is an interesting one and in a way heartwarming demonstrating how anyone can find love and how important finding and making these connections are. However that being said the story does drag at points. There are funny interjections away from the main story arc with a TV show called ‘Psycho Next Door,’ however after a while this repeated interruption becomes predictable and did `little to drive the story along. I had hoped that the concept of the TV show would lead to some further discussion between Rose and Harry as to what lay behind their serial killing ways but this was never developed beyond superficial conversation. The breakup between Rose and Harry could also be better written and it is from that point that the story loses some of its momentum and drive. The focus become less on their serial killer ways but more on the way any relationship breaks down, forgetting the shows USP.

The music was nicely written in a folk style. Ideally I would really play on this style as this is another aspect of the show that makes it stand out from the crowd.  Harry, played by Sebastian Belli and Rose, played by Lindsay Manion had voices which were not only well suited to this genre but voices that blended well together. The rest of the ensemble also had strong sound to them, although I would have liked to have seen them given some more layered harmonies in some of the numbers.

It was lovely to see a 6 piece band at the Fringe however setting them on stage did mean that the playing area was cramped, giving the actors very little space or ability to move on stage. I would be keen to see how abit more breathing space between the company could allow for some more subtle dynamics between them to be developed.

Essentially Buried has a great concept which with some further focus on this unique idea rather than other distractions along the way could make for a really interesting show.

Buried is on at the Underbelly, Bristo Square – Ermintrude until 27th August from 17:10 – 18:25.

If you like this review you might also like my reviews of The Worst Little Warehouse In London, Bare and My Left/Right Foot.