Every year, theatres up and down the country spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on developing new writing and nurturing talented new playwrights. But where is the money for the next generation of composers and lyricists - those who see a future for musical theatre in this country beyond the latest tribute musical or Andrew Lloyd Webber hit? Over the past few years, the tiny Bridewell has been struggling heroically to give these people a voice. At a time when its future hangs in the balance, it offers a distinctly different vision of the musical in Osnat Schmool's a cappella offering, Re: Love.
Re: Love is one of three short musicals staged over one evening, under the umbrella title Notes Across a Small Pond. Although this showcase format may not be the most satisfying for an audience, it does point up the sheer diversity of the musical form. The other two pieces, Blood Drive and The Happiness of Fish, hail from the US, where the musical is held in rather higher esteem.
Blood Drive is a ticklish comedy about a proofreader, a man who sees mistakes wherever he goes. Seduced by a promotional leaflet, he turns up to give blood for the first time. The gap between expectation and reality is neatly and often poignantly presented, and although this is no Blood Donor, it has comic charm. The Happiness of Fish, a vaudevillian nightmare about anxiety and insomnia, is limited by its central conceit.
Both these little shows have a polish that is lacking in Re: Love, but it is the British offering that is the most original. Schmool's tale of first love in the impersonal big city has verve and style. And although the a cappella form may not be everyone's musical cup of tea, it is well matched to a wistful story of the secretive city and its secret hearts.
· Until November 15. Box office: 020-7936 3456.
