Lesbian Space Crime is a comedy musical from Airlock Theatre, telling the absolutely entirely fictional story of Susan Albright, who is accused of being the first lesbian to commit a crime in space, and her fight to clear her name.
The cast of three work through the show with gusto. Rosanna Suppa plays the central role of Albright, while Eleanor Colville and Robbie Taylor-Hunt multi-role, taking on different characters throughout. The latter two do so in costumes that appear to be made of wipe-clean tinfoil, but somehow this fits the vibe of the show perfectly.
The story concerns Susan, who is on the International Space Station and has been chosen to be part of the first all-female spacewalk. Before this can happen, Gaia, who is Susan’s soon-to-be-ex-wife, complains that a space laser has destroyed her conservatory, and it must have been Susan who committed the crime.
What follows is a lot of silliness, but it’s making some serious points underneath the fun. While Susan is struggling to clear her name, she’s constantly in fights with Gaia, who is controlling the access to their child, Jimmy. Susan also feels like she’s neglecting her son for the sake of her career – it’s a situation familiar to anyone who feels like they’re struggling to achieve a work/life balance.
As the story continues, there’s a lot of commentary about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that used to be a part of US military life, and there are some lovely moments that poke fun at some aspects of queer culture. At times, the action does become surreal, but by the time C-3PO turns up, you’ll just absolutely accept that this is all just a fine and normal part of this universe.
The cast does exceptionally well, juggling at times frantic costume and scene changes with the demands of the songs. There’s basically no set, but that also works, both for the story, and given the constraints of staging a show at the Fringe. Airlock seem to have focused their attention on getting their tech balanced, and this pays off, as you can hear what the cast are saying and singing without everything being too loud.
This is a great show. As silly as it is, the story does actually make narrative sense, and everything is wrapped up neatly by the end. At times exceedingly odd, this is a space-station-sized amount of fun, making some serious points about the future of the planet, and those of us who have to live here.
Lesbian Space Crime continues in the Ace Dome at the Pleasance Dome, daily at 14:50, until August 25 (not 12). You can find out more about Airlock Theatre here.
