Murder on the Allotment: The Musical – The Cockpit
‘Murder on the Allotment: The Musical’ arrives at Camden Fringe with an intriguing premise and worthwhile intentions, but unfortunately the resulting production falls considerably short of its ambitions. Elizabeth Wood’s story centres on Karwan, a 17-year-old asylum seeker who finds himself navigating the prejudices and petty territorial disputes of a provincial allotment. There is undoubtedly fertile planting ground here for satire, particularly around immigration, xenophobia and attitudes towards belonging. Yet despite positioning itself as funny and provocative, the production rarely achieves either.
The principal problem is the score by Elizabeth Wood, Tess Adèle Glinert and Scarlet Billham. A mammoth eleven original songs are packed into an hour, yet few feel sufficiently devel...