Charing Cross theatre, London
This fast and furious Korean show has high-voltage tunes, but suffers from schmaltz and a breathlessly hectic pace
Two women meet on a train, in a flashback to Marie Curie’s early life. Both are Polish, on their way to Paris. Anne (Chrissie Bhima) is a farmhand while Marie (Ailsa Davidson) is a young scientist who will go on to win two Nobel prizes. We follow their friendship. It is an interesting framework, but the production charges through its story and song so fast and furiously that it seems like a medley of a complicated scientific life, performed at a hectic 100 minutes straight through.
Having begun life in Korea, and here directed by Sarah Meadows, the show incorporates Curie’s diary entries with her daughter serving as a narrative prompt. This feels like a flimsy expositional device for a show keen to tell us about Curie’s achievements and setbacks but without slowing down enough to unpack them.
