Between the Fragile Orders Department of a ‘Nozama’ warehouse (any likeness to ‘Amazon’ is entirely intentional) and the kitchen table of Hannah’s rural Scottish home, this musical considers what we lose in an obsession with development, with the intimacy of a handwritten letter.

Neve Kennedy and Jas Ratchford’s score is impressive and tender; my goosebumps did not cease. From angst filled ballads, to catchy chorus numbers and moments of borderline-jazz, the music was the stand out of the production. Coming to London fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, all performances felt secure and confident. Palindrome demonstrates what benefit time and practice has on student theatre; there should be a lot of pride in this final version.

"Kennedy and Ratchford’s score is impressive and tender; my goosebumps did not cease"

Protagonist Hannah (Louella Lucas) sees her life backwards, often getting numbers and details the wrong way around; she finds patterns in reversal. At first I wanted Hannah’s quirk to be explained. However, thanks to Lucas’ earnest portrayal, the reason behind Hannah’s mindset felt unimportant. The intention behind Flo Winkley’s direction, it felt, was not to show the world through Hannah’s eyes, but the comfort of finding someone who understands you.

Excitingly, the show had an all female creative team. The relationship between Hannah and mother Tara (Tabitha Tucker) was complicated, messy, but full of love. I appreciated this lens to look at generational tension, and Tara’s inner conflict at Hannah’s Nozama promotion: ‘I tried hard to love you, but it’s hard to love you’. Tara could not let herself be entirely proud of Hannah because it disrupted something that she had dedicated her life to, something that was being forgotten: writing letters. As the characters realise that putting pen to paper is the best way to tell people the things we feel we cannot say, it becomes clear that progress does not have to mean a total disregard of the past.

"It becomes clear that progress does not have to mean a total disregard of the past"

Only an hour long, the show did suffer slightly having to establish relationships very quickly. Madeleine Power’s book had so many moments of comedy and love between Adam (Jacob Benhayoun), Hannah and Eve (Coco Emmanuelle Wheeler) that I wanted just a bit more. It also meant that the ratio of songs to dialogue sometimes felt off, as though dialogue was only to set up the next song. But when the songs are this good, this can be forgiven. This was also countered by Tucker’s vulnerable delivery of Tara’s monologue; her storytelling ability had the audience hooked, and humanised the mother’s character.

I should pause here and add that Isaac Jackson was unnervingly convincing as the Dad, or ‘Dr Awkward’. His character also provided grounding when it was clear that Hannah’s life was filled with uncertainty. The male characters seemed mostly there for comic relief as Palindrome focuses more deeply on relationships between women, whether romantic or motherly.

"Palindrome leaves the audience with a quiet hope, reminding us to believe in the sacredness of human connection"

Overall, this production thrives in its simplicity. The small theatre space and minimal set only added to the intimacy of the production rather than limiting its potential. It does not set out to do too much but explores big ideas in the safety of its rural Scottish setting. Palindrome leaves the audience with a quiet hope, reminding us to believe in the sacredness of human connection in a world that moves too fast.

Palindrome ran from the 8th to 10th September at Riverside studios.