Unfolding tells the story of Rose, a woman who has retreated into passive existence following her father’s death, finding her only authentic connection through letters with a distant pen pal. It’s a premise that could easily collapse under its own quiet weight, but Emma Vieceli – writer, composer, and luminous performer – has created something that pulses with life.
The superbly written songs do exceptional work in propelling the narrative forward, with each musical number creating a distinct dramatic shift from beginning to end. This crucial storytelling function isn’t always successful even in well-.established musicals. The compositions also show remarkable versatility, spanning different moods in both solo and ensemble arrangements.
The genius lies in the details. Rose and her correspondent Mark bond over disagreeing about flavours of Monster Munch – a perfectly chosen detail for this reviewer, who also has strong views on that subject. Meanwhile, Rose won’t even correct colleagues who consistently get her name wrong at her soul-crushing workplace, a small but devastating indication of how completely she has erased herself from her own life.
Vieceli’s performance anchors the entire production with nuanced sensitivity. She inhabits Rose’s passivity without ever making her pathetic, finding the dignity in withdrawal while never romanticising it. Her transformation is tracked brilliantly through costume – beginning in the brown and beige tones of someone trying to disappear, then donning a still-brown but more dynamic jacket as Rose begins to reclaim agency over her existence. Subtle, but wholly effective.
The supporting ensemble creates a vivid world around Rose with economical precision. Rose’s three friends are instantly characterised through inspired costume choices: dungarees signalling innocent earnestness, voluminous hair for worldly bohemianism, and wide trousers for the competent hippy. Each performer inhabits their archetype fully while finding the human truth within.
David Barrett shines as Rose’s pen pal. His scenes with Vieceli crackle with the particular electricity of two people discovering they might matter to each other.
The choreography (David Mallabone) deserves special mention – not just the dance sequences, which are fluid and expressive, but the broader choreography of bodies in space. Cat Nicol director and movement work together to create stage pictures that are instantly expressive without ever calling attention to their own elegance.
Lighting design uses strategic flashes of red to brilliant effect, capturing both the alienation of Rose’s anonymous workplace and sudden, unwelcome confrontations with mortality’s inevitability. It’s a bold choice that pays dividends, though occasionally the stakes feel uneven – oscillating between the relatively low-key drama of meeting a pen pal and suddenly high-stakes flashes of existential contemplation.
Small characters are perfectly pitched: a bookshop owner and a pair of homophobic parents each communicate volumes of character with minimal stage time, testament to both sharp writing and committed performances.
The second half of the first act does drag slightly, perhaps inevitable given the deliberate pace of Rose’s awakening, but it’s a minor flaw in an otherwise tightly constructed evening.
This is advertised as a work in progress, with big ambitions. The evening’s crowning achievement is “It Starts Small,” Emma Vieceli’s Stiles + Drewe 2024 Best New Song Prize winner.
Unfolding succeeds because it understands that transformation doesn’t require grand gestures – sometimes it’s enough to simply stop hiding. In Rose’s journey from passive observer to active participant in her own life, Vieceli has found a story worth telling and, indeed, worth singing. Sometimes, we learn, the most revolutionary act is simply learning to take up the space you deserve.
Photography credit: Paul Ashley
