Roe McDonnell
Sometimes when you’re neurodivergent, it is very difficult to explain to friends and loved ones what it is like to be in your shoes. If only you could bottle this musical up and release it every time you need to be understood. This is exactly how I felt watching I’m Autistic: A New Musical.
Written by neurodivergent writer Leonora Brooks this musical follows 3 stories of Nat (Gabriel Phelan), Chloe (Olivia Jenkins) and Lauren (Liberty Ashford). All three of them are at different stages of their life and all of them are autistic. With authentic neurodivergent casting for its neurodiverse characters this show is showing an example to plenty of bigger productions that authentic casting is the right way to go and makes it more personal for representation.
This abridged version of an extended two act musical is a fly on the wall musical for fans of In Pieces, The Little Big Things and Dear Evan Hansen. It is also not afraid to show the real impacts of neurodiversity: battling discussions of suicide, ableism, overstimulation, strong language as well as scenes that may be distressing to some watchers. The musical also discusses nonverbal communication featuring Nat texting Sophie (Laura Rachael Hayes) about what is it like to have a verbal shut down. It also features Sign Supported English, another method of nonverbal communication. British Sign Language signs but in the order of English sentences which is an amazing step but would’ve loved to see a full BSL interpreted and captioned or audio described performance to make it even more accessible.
The beautiful story is underscored by a brilliant soundtrack of songs, composed by Leonora Brooks and music directed by Anto Buckley, these need a cast album as soon as humanly possible. Stand outs include the opening ‘Another Day as Me’ that had me almost bawling already and the harmonies across their three leads are stunning and ‘Realisation’ sung by Liberty Ashford’s Lauren.
But this musical isn’t complete without its impeccable ensemble, each of these 10 actors play 2-3 characters in different storylines and the composure these young performers have especially in their individual moments in the background of scenes shows how much they really love the show. Stand outs for me include Maisie Fogg’s three way track where she has to switch from horrible school mean girl to adorable and caring little sister in a matter of one scene change and her relationship with Nat is so special and one that can heavily relate to any glass children. Also a mention of Morgan Phillips’ natural charisma throughout the entire show, he brings an energy that heavily reminds me of Cameron Boyce and he brings that right into every character and every scene he does.
Want to find out more about this amazing new musical before it (undoubtedly) becomes the next big hit?
You can catch I’m Autistic: A New Musical until August 23rd at Venue 45 at theSpace @ Venue 45 from 15:20 (75mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
Jake Mace
