Recounting the fight for womens' suffrage through the fractious dynamic of mother-daughter rivals Sylvia and Emmeline Pankhurst is a great premise.
And rinsing early 20th century politics through a hip-hop spin cycle gives an uplifting physicality to the struggle against oppression - whether in rousing ensemble dance/marches, or a rap battle between rebellious Sylvia and a pair of toffs over women's capabilities
But while director/choreographer Kate Prince's treatment fizzes with righteous outrage and energy - and rallies towering performances from Sharon Rose and Beverley Knight - its overstretched book cannot marshal 25 years of history.
A tighter focus on Sylvia might have paid dividends - she was for peaceful protest, emancipating women of all classes, and attacking the system that priviliges upper class men. Emmeline (Knight) is for bricks through windows and direct action - she sees winning votes for middle-class women as a first step.
With her extraordinary vocal range and presence, Knight is the flinty matriarch prepared to cut off the daughter who crosses her campaign. But with little hinterland or nuance, the underwritten part does a disservice to her talents.
The sheer historical spread means events from WWI to the death of a beloved brother, and Emily Davidson get short shrift. While too much time is spent with Sylvia and boring beardy lover Keir Hardie (Alex Gaumond) singing about socialism. Sibling relationships with loyal, gay Christabel and exiled Adela, are reduced to political stances, while many other roles are fun but cartoonish.
Winston Churchill (Jay Perry) is a hen pecked wimp crushed between Jamaican matriarch Jennie, and determined Clemmie (Verity Blyth) underming quite how pernicious he was to the suffragette cause.
But it's visually striking, Ben Stones' monochrome costumes give way to splashes of socialist red as Sylvia establishes East London projects with working class women. Their deeply moving testimony to Parliament of their harsh did as much to win the vote as Emmeline's violence.
With a score blending, funk, soul, hip hop and grime, Josh Cohen and DJ Walde deliver a sring of stirring numbers; Make Some Noise, March Women March, the amusing Suffrajitsu. More memorable than the tunes is their stirring articulation of passionate protest and activism.
Sylvia Runs at The Old Vic until April 8. https://www.oldvictheatre.com/
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