Divorced biophysicist Maggie (Madalena Alberto) is taken to Livorno by her sister-in-law Sheila (Kluane Saunders) to escape the controversy surrounding her latest book and possibly for a little Shirley Valentinery.
Meanwhile, free-spirited Heather (Molly Lynch) persuades the artless Connor (Joaquin Pedro Valdes) to join her on a trip to the same place.
About 10 minutes after arriving, Maggie meets Australian hunk Luke (Tim Rogers) who runs a spiritual group.
When Maggie, Luke, Heather and Connor collide, romantic entanglements take a back seat to increasingly tiresome debates on fact and faith, empirical logic and mystery.
The semi-operatic songs are musically adroit but let down by banal lyrics.
It’s a shame, as Alberto and Lynch in particular are fine singers and make the most of their unlikely characters. Lynch gets the best song with All The Dead Poets while cellist Georgia Morse is a veritable ear magnet. For all its ‘new musical’ folderol, this is a woefully predictable story dressed up to look stylishly radical.
Riverside Studios until April 22 Tickets: 020 8237 1000
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