This fabulous new musical with jaw-dropping performances is an incredible showcase of new Musical Theatre talent

I always love going to the Studio in The Other Palace. Offering up new musical theatre, this space away from the main auditorium is a hive of the freshest writing and some of the most exciting new voices in musical theatre – a chance to see pieces in various stages of development before they, and the teams behind them, make it big. We’ll Have Nun of It is a perfect example of this – a wonderful new piece of work, with a supremely talented creative and performing team. It’s lovely to leave a show actively excited about what everyone is going to do next, and how this piece is going to develop. 

Centring on the ups and downs of the lives of four students in St Anne’s Convent – a Catholic boarding school in London in 1967, this musical explores what it is to emigrate far from home, finding your freedom of expression, and the sometimes uncomfortable friction present between unruly emotions and rigid religious expectations. Directed by Rosie Dart, this play spun through the events of the last year of school for Caragh, Bernie, Mary and Eliza (Michaela Murphy, Heather Gourdie, Juliette Artigala and Angel Lema respectively) under the watchful eye of various Sisters (all played by the wonderfully versatile Sorrel Jordan). Starting out with the arrival of Bernie from Dublin into a dormitory with the rest of her peers, she quickly becomes a part of the group finding companionship with Caragh as her fellow countrywoman, introduced to all the newfound freedoms arriving in the late 60’s by Eliza, with the moral compass of the Mary to guide them along the way. 

This is an ensemble piece, and while I tried to find enough superlatives to suffice for every member of the cast, it would be a disservice to flip through a thesaurus to find the synonyms for ‘absolutely stunning’. Murphy, Gourdie, Artigala, Lema and Jordan are all absolutely stunning performers. Their instrumental versatility is inspiring, the way they have formed such a cohesive ensemble transfers into their performances which are full of warmth and generosity. The way their voices mould together in some of the songs was breath-taking. Music by Finola Southgate as well as original orchestrations by Honor Halford-Macleod and musical direction by Rosie Weston – all have the responsibility for all the beautiful songs, that is, all of the songs in the show.

There were a couple of drawbacks, mainly related to some of the staging and the story. Unfortunately, most of the first part of the show is missing to the audience on stage left as it seems to have been directed for an end-on performance. Whilst this didn’t persist through the rest of the show, it was a shame that the first part was lost. In reference to the story, I would say that at times there was a lack of structure which meant that some parts of the show were not fully explored – one plot line in particular, where tea with the Father gathered growing menace every time it was alluded to, lacked a satisfactory conclusion and was rarely referred to after a climactic – and, again, brilliant – song. The result ended up lying in between a song cycle and a musical, which detracted from an otherwise incredible show.

Nevertheless, this show is a warm hug of beautiful music, incredible voices and supreme talent. What a lovely way to spend a chilly evening in late February. Please go see it, if only so you can say to your friends in years to come: “I was there when…”