The Stage

Jet Set Go!

Published Friday 3 April 2009 at 11:15 by Scott Matthewman

The love lives of a transatlantic cabin crew are played out in a variety of enjoyable numbers in this bawdy musical comedy, which unfortunately relies too much on anecdote to allow a real story to take flight.

Zipping along at a fair pace, each of the characters starts out as a broad caricature - the oversexed gay trolley dolly, the sexy Latina with a passion for the pilot, the anxious newbie. Rarely, though, are we treated to anything deeper. The feeling that we have seen all these characters before detracts from the quality of the songs, which are generally all of a high standard, encompassing a range of musical styles with an assured maturity from the writing team of Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary.

The cast’s most recognisable face, Mark Evans, suffers from having the most underwritten role. Performing well in his two key numbers, he ends up lost in the ensemble pieces, which are dominated by the more flamboyant characters. Of these, Amy Coombes’ Hayley steals every scene as the girl form the Welsh valleys with a long, if unsuccessful, sexual history.

It is only in the latter half of the musical that some hint at what might have been begins to emerge. But presenting characters with emotional challenges this late on means that issues are either resolved within a couple of verses or merely hinted at and left hanging by the time the plane makes its final descent.

Mike Lees’ production design uses an effective, if minimal, set and the show’s imaginative use of low-budget props allows for some great comedy performances, particularly in scenes set in the plane’s flight deck. The staging helps contribute to a fun, if imperfect, evening of comedy that showcases some promising young composition talent.