Rating: ★★★
Venue: Venue 45 at theSpace, Edinburgh
Lauren, Nat and Chloe are young adults. They are going through big changes in their lives. And they are autistic. Lauren is a uni student who discovers she may be autistic when researching for an essay. Nat has been unlucky in love, until he meets the neurotypical Sophie who is everything he wants in a girl. Chloe is struggling with bullying at school, and the strain on her relationship with her best friend Liv, because of Liv’s sudden rise in popularity. We encounter love, loss, friendships, mental health and more in this new musical.
Liberty Ashford is a vocal and emotional powerhouse.
This new musical about being autistic is absolutely necessary, and I'm glad it now exists. We follow three young people as they explore their neurodivergency - some are high-masking and some are still undiagnosed, but I would argue that all are on a similar area of the spectrum - with low to medium support needs (to use the clinical terms). It would have been nice to see a wider variety of the autistic experience, such as those who use AAC, Makaton, or require constant care. There was BSL integrated into the choreography of the opening number but then not embedded into the rest of the production - which would have made it much more accessible.
There was also little explanation about what autism is for audiences who are unfamiliar, and a lot of the presentations were quite archetypal. Naturally, it's difficult to share such a range of nuanced and complex ideas in an hour, however the lack of visible intersectionality on stage paired with no mention of any other disability (despite comorbidities being absolutely integral to autistic individuals) suggests that perhaps more outside influence would be beneficial for this one.
Seeing single fathers, challenging home lives, and queer relationships portrayed realistically was refreshing and I'd look forward to seeing that more intrinsically interlinked with each character's neurodivergent experience.
The script and score is well crafted, however the direction and dramaturgy needs some work. I would be excited to see this show further down its development journey, as it certainly doesn't feel finished quite yet.
You can book tickets to I'm Autistic - A New Musical, here.
Review by Katie
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