The story of the first canine to break the stratosphere is reinvented here as a very silly musical, packing in plenty of energy but little else. It’s unfathomable why Double Edge Drama chose a musical, when so few of the cast appear to have much singing experience. The songs are catchy (I walked out humming one), though the lyricists rhyme sausage with knowledge, which is surely some kind of war crime. There are glimmers of interest, but nothing is particularly memorable and a fair few jokes don’t land. Sending a dog into space to die is at once a heartless and absurd thing to do, and there’s definitely a compelling, funny story to be made from it. Sadly, this isn’t it.

Gilded Balloon, until 25 Aug.
tw rating 2/5 | [Jon Stapley]