Lock & Key Review Round Up
Review round up for LOCK & KEY, VAULT FESTIVAL 2018.
"‘Lock and Key’ presents a relevant and potentially excitingly sinister narrative, with strong performances and a fantastic score." - THE SPY IN THE STALLS
NICK BRITTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY
***
"The music plays on our emotions and adds tension and suspense to the requisite moments".
"Barlow’s music is superb, with plenty of offerings to leave the audience humming the tunes on their way home...Ultimately it's the music that stays with you after the show ends, demonstrating its true impact - a great effort by Barlow and Smith."
MIRO MAGAZINE - ★★★★☆
***
"Promising new chamber musical with a pleasingly dark streak of humour"
THE STAGE - ★★★☆☆
***
"Lock & Key is an excellent piece of theatre and deserves a longer life than the 5 days it’s on at The Vaults Festival – I hope they have big plans for it in the future".
It's a brilliantly written, perfectly formed 60 minutes and the time just flies by".
There are a couple of superb set-piece songs of which “Chilled Water”, Jess’s lament about her life is wonderfully poignant. There are times when Barlow’s music underscores the dialogue, and this gives the piece a cinematic feel which works really well."
LONDON THEATRE 1 - ★★★★☆
***
"‘Lock and Key’ presents a relevant and potentially excitingly sinister narrative, with strong performances and a fantastic score."
“Contemporary and relevant, this is a modern day musical that I’m sure many can identify with”
"Hoskins in particular has a fantastically natural tone to her voice which works brilliantly with the at times Sondheim-esque score. Bella Barlow (composer) transitions easily from sing/speak into more traditional song structures and A. C. Smith’s lyrics are well served within this framework. The music and the musicians themselves are impressive..."
THE SPY IN THE STALLS - ★★★☆☆
***
"A surprising richness and complexity of the musical textures conjoured up by Bella Barlow, whose own orchestrations are heard here, and brilliantly fine they are, too."
BRITISH THEATRE - ★★★☆☆
***
"Bella Barlow’s score impressively weaves together a range of influences to create a lively and cohesive score that is nagging away at earworm territory. Hoskins’ is superb as the dryly funny Jess, apparently unable to resist any temptation, and Graves excels at the unexpected emotional range of Samantha". -
THERE OUGHT TO BE CLOWNS
***
"It’s witty, of the moment and full of appropriately edgy music. Its biggest fault is that we leave hungry for more." - LONDON GRIP
