Indigo

Leicester Curve, Weds 2nd July 2025

It’s uncommon in musical theatre to see a show that doesn’t remind you at least a little of something you’ve seen before. Indigo however, which is currently receiving its UK premiere at Leicester Curve, is one of those rare and precious exceptions. 

Emma (Katie Cailean) is an autistic, speechless, 16-year-old girl with a condition known as synaesthesia. As she paints the stage with light, we begin to experience her world where things are sensed and intensified through the different colours of the rainbow. Blue is her safe place whilst those around her are associated with other shades, each with their own emotional tone. 

Meanwhile husband and wife Beverly (Rebecca Trehearn) and Rick (Nuno Queimado) are doing their best to settle Beverly’s mother Elaine (Lisa Maxwell) into their home with more than a little trepidation. Elaine is strong willed, unaccepting of her diagnosis of dementia and insistent that her stay with them is just a temporary measure.

Distressed at the recent death of her father Victor, Emma is placed under the care of social worker Alicia (Tania Mathurin) who attempts to put the girl in contact with someone who can take care of her. Emma recalls the pink-hued kindness of Elaine whose phone number she still remembers, and contact is made. After Elaine rushes to Emma’s aid and brings her to Beverly’s home, we learn the truths that have been hidden within the family. Emma is Beverly’s daughter who she abandoned at a young age. Unknown to Beverly, Elaine continued to care for the girl for many years after the event.

As Beverly, Trehearn convincingly portrays a woman desperately trying to keep control of her situation whilst Queimado finds in Rick endearing warmth and gentleness. Both actors are vocally strong whilst Mathurin too gets a chance to showcase her powerful belt as the plain-speaking Alicia during her number Nobody Expects That.

Maxwell’s performance as Elaine is truly heartbreaking as she slowly comes to terms with her disease, limitations and uncertain future. The urgency in which she communicates to Beverly her love and regrets during the number Before I Forget left few eyes dry in the house. 

Not wishing to take praise away from any single member of this talented cast, the undoubted star of the show is Cailean. She brings immense commitment to Emma’s mannerisms and actions, whilst the powerful score by Scott Evan Davis showcases her voice beautifully. It is incredible to learn that this is Cailean’s professional stage debut, such is her commanding presence. The audience cannot help but fall in love with Emma as they witness how each character is gradually transformed by her. 

Hugo Rolland as the sweet-hearted, dyslexic Tyler completes the ensemble of six. His high point in the show comes when he wins over Emma with a love of comic books and a vow that they will become superheroes together.

The success of this show owes a lot to the sublime way in which Emma’s inner emotion is expressed through bold and brilliant colours. A multi-layered set designed by Andrzej Goulding quickly transforms from the neutral shades of Beverly and Rick’s home by means of a complex of projection and lighting designed by Jake DeGroot. The coordination between actor movements and visual effects are seamless. 

A show that sets out to explore conditions such as autism, dementia, depression and dyslexia needs to be handled with great sensitivity and care. Far from the doom and gloom that some might expect from such subject matter, the result is life-affirming and deeply moving. Under Catie Davis’s direction, Indigo is a thing of beauty that lifts the spirits and warms the heart. The show runs for 1 hour 40 minutes with no interval yet, so absorbing is the production, the time flies past. 

Indigo plays at the Leicester Curve until 19^th July.

Photos credit. Manuel Harlan