BED: The Musical is a rom-com set after the ending of a rom-com. Showing married life, adapting to parenthood, and everything that happens after the ‘happy ending’.
Ben (Drew Elston) and Alice (Madeleine MacMahon) are newlyweds that buy a brand new bed, the show is centred around this – if you hadn’t guessed from the title – with everything taking place in bed.
This hour-long musical contains 24 songs, with lyrics by Tim Anfilogoff, and music by Alan Whittaker. The show contains so many songs because the characters never speak, they only sing. The music is played on piano throughout, and after a while, the songs begin to feel very similar, there are also a couple of songs, one of which being ‘Watching Alice Sleep’ which is very lengthy. Whilst there are some witty lyrics and innuendos, most of the time the lyrics are comprised of conversations between the two, and most of the songs don’t really allow for vocal abilities to be showcased, although there are a few beautiful moments of soft harmonies.
The characters feel underdeveloped and are not established well at the beginning, which somewhat dilutes the emotional impact of what the characters are feeling. The emotional climax of the play falls somewhat flat. There is also a lack of chemistry between them, which means the audience are not invested within their relationship.
The plot feels unoriginal and lacks depth; if there is a hidden meaning, maybe it is too well tucked in, unlike the fitted sheet they put on the bed at the beginning.
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