Public the Musical - get fully locked in

★★★★

Sh*t happens. And then you get trapped in the loo with four strangers.

Photo by Mark Senior

That is the premise of the new musical from Hannah Sands, Kyla Stroud, and Natalie Stroud, set in a gender neutral toilet in the middle of a park. With no phone signal, between the hours of 6pm and 6am, nobody is coming to rescue these four individuals, who, on any other given day, would unlikely cross paths.

Unlike the regular visit to a public loo, Public is surprisingly clean and fresh for its first proper staging post-Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Zingy, zappy tunes become instant earworms in their modern simplicity, and despite the band being hidden backstage, there is nothing boggy about the sound (crystalline, despite all the ceramic). Ivano Turco's anxious Finley is given soft soulful melodies, while Matt Corner's ignorant Andrew surprises with rich emotion, Cole Dennis's people-pleaser Laura has poise and elegance while singing, finally confident in their own feelings, and Grace Towning's Zo possesses a popular Glinda lilt.

With dwindling batteries and hope, there is little else to do except read the wall graffiti, attempt small talk, admit defeat, dig deep into each other's business, and take edibles. Obviously. In the outside window, dusk turns to dark and dawn as brilliant lighting by Katy Morison softens the fluorescent white strip lighting, but casts vivid disco spotlights during the musical numbers, illuminating purples and pinks as director Sands keeps things pacy. The sectioned cubicles, stairs to the door, and sink area make a surprisingly adventurous playing space, both forcing these strangers to confront themselves and each other. Complete with running water and an unpredictable hand dryer.

And they do. Conversation covers gender and sexuality, relationships, family dynamics, mental health, class, and much more, intelligently. At times, it veers a little into over-explanation, never quite trusting their audiences to infer. But the characters are so well drawn and portrayed that it works. Gap yah Zo on her way to a peaceful protest is carrying the weight of the world and sees it her responsibility to single-handedly solve it, Laura is avoiding the fallout of their relationship, Finnley is worrying about his grandmother, his job, and everything else, and finance bro Andrew's bravado is all an act. In the claustrophobic confines of the public toilet, there are tense moments; confrontations, involuntary outbursts, and panic attacks, bravely managed. But there is fun and silliness too; trippy slow-mo movement, paper veils, dance breaks. Towning is a great comic actress, completely watchable, while Dennis fills any silence with well-meaning comments, namely about syphilis.

The most fun you could possibly have while stuck in a loo. I was fully locked in.