REVIEW: FLYOLOGY @ UNION THEATRE

🎭 Flyology

📍 Union Theatre, Old Union Arches, 229 Union Street, London, SE1 0LR

🗓 Tuesday 5th May 2026

⭐️ 2 Stars

A GLITCH IN THE SISTERHOOD

Walking down The Cut towards Southwark earlier this week, I felt a buzz of anticipation. I headed into the Union Theatre with high hopes because the premise of FLYOLOGY was genuinely intriguing to me.

We aren't just an audience here; we are cast as potential investors at a high-stakes tech launch. The show kicks off with Callum, a tech founder who is part visionary, part chaos, unveiling a predictive AI meant to "fix" the future. But, in true sci-fi fashion, the system glitches, accidentally pulling three historical icons - Ada Lovelace, Ethel Smyth, and Emmeline Pankhurst - into the digital simulation. It’s a premise described as a "feminist riot" that pits historical defiance against futuristic optimisation.

There is definitely stuff to like about this musical, and the bones of a great show are there, but there’s also a lot that needs work.

I enjoyed the way the fourth wall was handled. Before the show even officially began, Callum was among us, chatting to the audience about our thoughts on technology in a wonderfully awkward, "tech-bro" way that set the tone perfectly. This breaking of the fourth wall continued throughout, attempting to make us feel like part of the glitching simulation ourselves.

However, some of the technical choices hampered the immersion. I don't understand the current trend of not micing actors in a musical. I was sitting in the front row, and even from there, I struggled to hear the lyrics. While some of the cast had better projection than others, there were moments when I genuinely had no idea what was being sung. It’s such a shame, because the music by Tamiko Dooley was by far the strongest part of the show, and it deserves to be heard clearly.

Ironically, for a show centred on tech, the production really struggles with its own technical side. Aside from the sound issues, I found the lighting design disappointing, and honestly, a little boring. Regular readers will know how much I love my technical theatre, but here, the lighting often left the actors' faces in total darkness, which is never a good thing.

The script, while born from a brilliant idea, definitely needs finessing. I would have liked the female characters to feel more "of their time." Instead, they all spoke in a very modern way and seemed oddly unfazed by their sudden digital kidnapping. They even knew the tech lingo, which just didn't track. Their blasé response to the whole situation was frankly baffling. The whole thing is filled with too many things that just don't make sense.

And why was there an interval? For a 70-minute show, it didn’t make any sense and killed the momentum. I also found the AI voice confusing. In an era where AI sounds increasingly human, having what sounded like a human performing it with a "robotic" affectation actually felt slightly dated, rather than futuristic.

For a show about the defiance of women, written by a woman and featuring female icons, it was weird that the best-written character was Callum, the only male. Charlie Renwick was the undisputed standout performer, giving excellent diction, great projection, and a characterisation that was controlled, comical, crazy, and charming all at once. Though seriously, what happened to his trousers?

Among the women, Meg Abbott was the strongest performer. She has a lovely voice, but I couldn’t help but feel the songs were written for a grittier, more "rock" vocal than what we got. It's somewhat unfortunate that although the three actors gave good performances, they unfortunately became lost because they haven't yet mastered the acoustics of the space, even when speaking.

Overall, the word for this show is "potential." There is a lot of good intent here, but the production needs to be brought up to the level of the music. It just feels very muddled in its current form.

As it stands, I struggle to see a future for the piece. A complete reworking of the script and technical elements would go a long way in giving this show longevity. There is an obvious passion and great intent from the creators, and in a reimagined form, it could be something really great.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Flyology was gifted by the creative team who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST LIST:

Meg Abbott as Ada Lovelace; Ashleigh Cassidy as Ethel Smyth; Aishling Jones as Emmeline Pankhurst; Charlie Renwick as Callum

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 30 minutes, including interval

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