Now in its 11th year, Wellington Footlights continues to show its dedication to local writers and original productions by supporting Ruby Kemp’s Sci-fi musical. Solarise: A New Musical explores the poignant question: “What would you do if you knew tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed?”

Solarise is set between the lead up to the ‘announcement’, that a Solar flare is going to wipe out the world sometime in the next decade, to the present day four years later.

Kemp’s narrative weaves together themes of resilience, determination, connection, a look into the human psyche and the fleeting nature of time.

In designer Anne-Lisa Noordover’s galaxy inspired set, lit thoughtfully by Ruby Kemp’s lighting design, there are permanent spaces of a family kitchen, a science lab/workshop and a park bench, with the only moving set change being a table brought on to represent a factory work space. Director Emily K Brown guides the flow of the action seamlessly.

I love the additions of the array of props (Deb McGuire) giving a homely, real and inviting aesthetic as if nothing has changed, and yet through the scripting over it, everything has. Adding to this are time stamp projections (Scott Maxim)  to move us through the various time states with ease.

Solarise takes a family – Dad/Paul (Jason Mackiewicz), Mum/Elaine (Margaret Hill), and their two adult daughters; Beth (Celia Macdonald, also Choreographer) Sophie (Simran Rughani), her partner, Jaye (Emerson McMartin) and– and explores their reaction to the news of the impending end to the world and the impact of decisions made on relationships within the family, on themselves, their partners and their community.

Themes covered here feel real and recognisable; with the character who ‘runs away’ to fulfil their own dreams and urges, the one who stays for the family, another who pours themselves into finding an escape plan, the one who holds it all together for others in spite of their own needs and the one who has an existential crisis about who they are and if they have meaning in the world. On the outside of this nuclear group are the extended community in varying states of chaos, greed and denial. .

Ruby Kemp is the lyricist and the composer of this new work and has a very approachable style to the script writing, with the scenario, characters and nuances in the relationships being established with heart and realism and gentle dollops of much needed humour even when the end is nigh.

Solarise is not a sung-through musical, so the challenge to get the right balance of seamless linking from dialogue to song is harder. The songs here act as character and relationship deepeners, and care needs to be taken to ensure they don’t feel like ‘here comes another song’ rather than moving with deliberate purpose into this next moment.

The accompanying sound-scape is truly beautiful and is played superbly. The band is led by Musical Director Michael Stebbings on Keyboard (also acknowledging assistant MD Stephen Clothier) with Marley Richards on Guitar; Greg Rogan’s beautiful melodies through the Flute, Clarinet and Saxophone; Thomas Guest on Bass Guitar, and Steve Swanson on Drum Kit and Percussion keeping the anchor.

It feels like this area of the composing is fleshed out and flows with ease, but some of the song lyrics inside the accompaniment feel more forced to fit a melodic line, or the melodic line needs work to fit the desire of the lyric.

Originating a new musical is a rewarding but also a hard task for a cast, because for an audience to get the most out of a first listening, clarity and balance is especially important. This is achieved with strong characterisation and delivery through the spoken dialogue but not always achieved through the vocal. A few things hinder this at times: shaky security in vocal accuracy and connection; volume balance between stage and ‘pit’ which is more pronounced with characters  singing more directly to another character or looking upstage. While these choices gives a more intimate realism, it makes audibility a problem when no extra amplification is in use. 

This is not the case the whole way through and the songs that work the most for me are a hilarious and completely committed performance of ‘Profits Don’t Stop’by the greed driven end of world denier boss, Baxter, played by Tadhg Mackay; The sibling duet ‘What Matters’ sung by sisters Sophie (Simran Rughani) & Beth (Celia Macdonald), delivered with excellent emotional feistiness and clarity; ‘Nothing Changes’, a poignantly still moment in time between Beth (Celia Macdonald) and Harper (Caryl Loria Illana); and Emerson McMartin and Amy Noble’s characters Jaye and Logan, respectfully, leading the ensemble in ‘Who are you?’ and ‘End of the World’ with strength and determination.

There is much to love here. Solarise is a testament to the power of theatre to inspire and provoke thought.

Ruby Kemp is a talented writer and her future offerings will be ones to watch out for. This musical has certainly given our family interesting discussion openers over the last couple of days, especially on the back of the latest Climate Strike and current world events.

The diversity of the cast should be applauded as the world created on stage is inclusive and universal, thus giving audiences the opportunity to reflect on their own lives and the choices they might make in a similar position. Solarise will leave a lasting impression and I hope we get to see more of it in future productions.

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