When I was told that I was going to see a musical about depression, self harm, anorexia and a girl whoÔÇÖd been sectioned, honestly I feared the worst. Musicals are usually so fun and whimsical that I thought it would be impossible to display the emotional depth required for such a topic. Boy was I wrong.

Battle Scars: A New Musical, written and directed by Alexander Gatherer is in itÔÇÖs second run following success earlier this year. It manages to tackle issues concerning mental health in a way that is suddenly universally relatable. Each patient in Hyacinth House faces a different challenge and each actor brought to life the struggles of living with a mental illness. It really touched me.

Elise Parrish playing the main character Lily had a simply fantastic vocal range with not one note out of place. She took us through the musical with her incredible talent as her character is attacked, injured and sectioned. Ashley Rogers playing Nate, Rebecca Miles playing Clementine and Rhian Peake playing Martha all deserve a mention for their singing prowess, stirring emotions in me I didnÔÇÖt think I could feel. I wouldnÔÇÖt be surprised to see any one of the actors in this production in a West End show. They should all feel incredibly proud.

It was unfortunate that there were some minor technical issues with sound in the performance but that can be forgiven due to the fact that they had a live band performing, filling the room with energy and music. Honestly, there were some points when the singing was drowned out by the band being a tad loud, however this appeared to be swiftly corrected, especially as in the second act when in the emotional songs of the finale I was hanging on every word.

Overall, Battle Scars was fantastic, and reminded the audience that itÔÇÖs okay to talk (or sing!) about your feelings. Moments of comic relief were peppered throughout the production that had me laugh out loud, alongside heartbreaking scenes that brought me to the edge of tears. Such emotional extremes made this a musical to remember, and I sincerely hope itÔÇÖll be back for another run in the near future.

BATTLE SCARS

Review by Maria Mellor