Medical Musical

Lifeline is a new musical with music and lyrics by songwriter Robin Hiley and a book by Becky Hope-Palmer, directed by Alex Howarth. A medical musical tracing the legacy of the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928, the staging incorporates a six-piece band and, uniquely, rotating choruses of real-life medical professionals who will appear throughout the run. Following sold-out engagements at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and a New York run, the production arrives in London with a cast led by Alan Vicary (Phantom of the Opera) as Alexander Fleming, joined by Maz McGinlay (Hairspray), Nathan Salstone (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Kieran Brown (Les Miserables), Helen Logan, Robbie Scott, and Kelly Glyptis. 

What is it About?

The musical moves between postwar Britain and the present day, in the aftermath of Fleming's discovery of penicillin and its lasting consequences. At the height of his acclaim, Fleming is navigating a relationship with a Greek freedom fighter who is called back to her country, while in the present day a doctor faces a crisis when her long-lost childhood sweetheart is rushed to the hospital she is working at. Through these two tales the play examines the ongoing fragility of medical progress, with composer Hiley also discussing Lifeline as an homage to those working in public health in an era of mounting resistance.