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Given all the research that went into ‘Beyond the Fence’, it should be the best musical ever written. It’s not, but it is quite good.
Part of an experiment for Sky Arts documentary ‘Computer Says Show’, teams of scientists from across Europe have analysed pretty much everything musical theatre-related to try and see if there’s a formula for box office success: from the gender of the protagonist (female) and location (anywhere but America), to time-period (1980s) and ending (happily-ever-after, naturally). So writers Benjamin Till and Nathan Taylor hit upon the conflict around Greenham Common’s CND women-only camp and US military base. The proverbial fence is that between activists and army, and the set revolves – to allow the audience to see the action from both sides.
A team of mathematicians from Cambridge University pinpointed exactly where in the show key elements should fall, and so we have a comedy scene before the end of act one, while the romance doesn’t begin to blossom until act II. The premise, “what if a wounded soldier had to learn to understand a child in order to find true love?” came from Goldsmith University’s What-If Machine. And the plot was generated by ProperWryter which looked at key story arcs a musical ought to have if it is to be a success – struggle, aspiration, reconciliation, somebody being defiant about their character – it’s all in there. Which does, of course, mean that this is a bit musical-by-numbers. In fact, bit – notably the death, apparently an essential ingredient – feels a bit stuck-in and random.
However the enjoyable –if unmemorable – score and strong cast mean that it isn’t entirely mechanical. Hollie Owen as mute child George is a teeny-tiny superstar: even when silent she holds the stage and her closing song was the only tearjerker. Although I suspect that my damp face might have been as the result of being broken by the weight of clichés piled up until I was forced to surrender.
Is this any better than it would have been had the writing duo Till and Taylor been left to their own devices? I suspect not, and I would imagine that without the machines it would be a lot less formulaic.