Image by Jayden Randles
Review by: Blake Zhang
Rating: ★★★★
In Her Defence was an unexpected surprise. It is a simple story, but the production gets a lot out of it.
After discovering that her husband Rick (Lee Ashley) has been having an affair, Donna (Sian Kelly) has to prepare for a custody battle and fight to keep her two children. Her best friend Debbie (Louise Irwin) is sharp-tongued but deeply supportive, staying by her side through some of the hardest and messiest moments. Rick hires Gary, a top New York lawyer, while Donna finds Georgia to fight her case.
Image by Jayden Randles
The plot itself is quite predictable, but the show knows how to keep things moving. The comedy is a big part of this. Callum Watson’s Postman Pat is oily, overly friendly and just awkward enough to be funny. His song about delivering letters in court had the whole audience laughing. Morgan Husbands’s Gary, meanwhile, has a very specific kind of American confidence. Gary’s courtroom entrance, wrapped in an American flag, is particularly memorable. These jokes feel very recognisably British, and they give the show plenty of energy.
The show also clearly takes inspiration from classic musicals. There are moments when you can see where the references come from, but they never feel like simple copies. The influences have been absorbed into the production quite naturally. Most importantly, the songs are doing real work. The songs about motherhood give Donna and the other female characters space to express feelings that are harder to put into dialogue, while other numbers keep the story moving. Sian Kelly’s voice more than carries the lead role, giving Donna the presence she needs at the centre of the musical.
The nine-person ensemble was a real highlight for me. They are energetic from the moment they come on stage, and everyone brings something to their role. Their movement and group choreography are particularly strong. They are not only there to support the main characters. They also handle the scene changes, which makes the whole production feel smooth and continuous. There is hardly a moment when the stage feels empty. One thing follows another, but the pace never feels rushed.
This level of energy is especially impressive considering the show is only one hour long. Harrison Cranfield, who wrote, produced and composed the musical, is just 19. The music takes inspiration from 1980s pop, and he manages to tell a complete story within a short running time. The show is generally good at knowing what needs more time and what can be moved through quickly. It shows a level of control that I did not expect.
If the show develops into a longer production, I would like to see more of Donna and Rick themselves. At the moment, the custody battle is the centre of the story, but there is still much to explore in their relationship. What was their marriage like before the affair? What was their family life like? What do they each feel about their children, and about the life they once had together? The evidence brought into court could become a trigger for memories, allowing parts of their past to appear on stage. This could give us a deeper sense of what has been lost.
The production is clearly working within limited resources. The lighting, sound and set design are quite basic, and some of the plot points are easy to predict. But these limitations do not take away from how complete the show feels as a piece of musical theatre.
By the end, I could already imagine In Her Defence as a much bigger production. A longer running time could give Donna and Rick more room to develop, while a larger theatre could make full use of its energetic ensemble. For a one-hour Fringe musical, it has achieved a lot. More importantly, it left me wanting to see what this young team could do with more time, space and resources.