The premise of The Gardening Club is undeniably intriguing. A pop rock musical set in 1960s Georgia, where a group of women run a secret drug ring to distribute the birth control pill under the guise of a gardening club, has all the makings of a bold, urgent and darkly comic show. Unfortunately, this production rarely lives up to the promise of its own synopsis.

Visually, everything feels undercooked. The set and costumes look amateur, more fringe scratch night than fully realised musical. The direction and lighting design only compound this. Scenes frequently play half in the dark, with cast members drifting in and out of their light, which gives the whole evening the feel of a high school production rather than a polished professional outing.

Vocally, there is some genuine talent on stage and the harmonies are often solid, but the sound design is a serious problem. Microphones cut in and out, are not turned on in time or suddenly blare at uncomfortable levels. The band repeatedly overpowers both dialogue and lyrics, so key lines, including major plot points, are lost in the wash. Even the timing of spoken lines over underscoring feels uncertain, as if never fully rehearsed.

The score itself is serviceable, with occasional clever wordplay, but the music often feels flat and two dimensional. More damaging is the disconnect between music and book. The show veers wildly in tone, moving from a raw confession about an illegal abortion to a cartoonish drug heist number without any emotional bridge. Character development is choppy, important beats are skimmed over and some second act songs feel half finished, as if the creative team ran out of time.

Given the subject matter, this lack of depth is particularly troubling. Themes of women’s bodily autonomy, shame, and resistance are present, but rarely explored with the care they deserve. A serious sexual assault scene is followed by a bizarrely staged comic drug stealing sequence that feels like it belongs in cartoon not a theatre show about women’s rights.

By the finale, the messaging has tied itself in knots. The show races from championing access to the pill, to condemning its side effects, to a last minute nod to Roe v. Wade and abortion rights, all within minutes, with little sense of resolution or clarity. Even the husband’s sudden acceptance of his wife’s criminal activities feels unearned.

The Gardening Club has a strong seed of an idea and glimpses of what it could be. For now though, it needs significant rewriting, clearer focus and far more rehearsal and technical polish before it can truly bloom.

Reviewed by Olivia Ruggiero.

Two Stars.

https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-gardening-club-a-new-musical/new-wimbledon-theatre/