Precipice
17 November 2025
New Diorama Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Precipice, currently premiering at the New Diorama Theatre until 13 December, is a collaboratively written musical by Timelapse. The production poses questions on sustainability, human nature, and the will to survive at all cost.
In the present, a young couple settle in their new flat in a tower in Greenwich, with a gorgeous view of the Thames. When a biomedical emergency threatens a complete collapse of society, they are brought to the brink, having to confront their own role in the catastrophe and the stability of their relationship. Four hundred years in the future, a small community of survivors shelter in the very same tower. They have built a life with new rules of sustainability and accountability, new rituals and ceremonies based on the history of the tower in a destroyed and inhospitable world.
The musical is staged in a small theatre that uses its scarce space extremely well. The small set consists of a sofa and a tiny kitchen turned podium and sound mixing deck. The back wall holds a gorgeous installation of old water cooler jugs, backlit in a large frame like a surreal divider wall turned art installation. Despite the lack of space, this production feels large and important, utilising the set tremendously well for both timelines, which intersect and overlay. The present-time’s couple has left diaries that the future-time community uses as a historic account of life in the distant past, trying to understand how the planet-destroying catastrophe started, and how to avoid going down the same path again.
The plot is underlined with an electro-folk score filled with compelling and haunting songs, exploring personal responsibility, sustainability, and the deeply human will to survive. From heart-wrenching ballads to absolute powerhouse bangers, Precipice is stuffed to the brim with deeply touching songs.
Blending post-apocalyptic sci-fi themes with survival and community, there is a very human side to this production, exploring the need for individual personhood within a rigidly regimented community, human ingenuity and the tendency to over-consume, while placing a strong emphasis on the deeply human will to survive against all odds.
There are incredibly strong performances by Max Alexander-Taylor as revel musician Biscuits, and Melinda Orengo as spirited engineer Piper. The troupe of five actors wield instruments and slip through the timelines expertly, exploring the near-present and distant-future timelines in parallel. The ingenuity of using present day diaries and artefacts as anthropological study objects, mirroring our own exploration of ancient civilisations, gives a humorous and charming edge to the plot. Precipice is very cleverly written and has a rich tapestry of societal observations woven into an intriguing story of catastrophe and rebuilding efforts. A wonderful new musical with a strong cast, interesting plot, and unspoken warnings for the future.
