Just when I was beginning to lose faith in this Fringe's musicals, along come this truly professional affair that brims over with talent and feeling. From the Fire takes its cue from the true story of the 146 women workers who died in New York in 1911 when their sweatshop caught fire, leaving them trapped. People on the street watched in horror as they flung themselves from the roof, a moment which is captured onstage in a brilliant fusion of the beautiful and horrifying.But this is more than just tragedy, it has a special historical significance. Public outcry at the deaths sparked legislative change to worker’s conditions, and gave strength to the women’s suffrage movement in America. This gave the women who died a certain warped justice, a celebratory idea the play returns to.The company are stunning singers, each voice rich with beauty and power, and every role is played convincingly and sensitively. Characters are full of nuances, but also driven by strong narratives concerned with ideas like education or immigration. The musical’s triumph lies in its structure, giving us bittersweet and realistic snapshots of the lives behind the numbers of dead. It gives us the chance to connect to tragedy - which we see every day on the news - in a truly human way.Each member of the cast is brilliant in bringing this about, but special mention must go to Grace McLean, who played labour union leader Rose Schneiderman with fabulous conviction. Her repeated refrain of ‘get the vote’ was so rousing it almost brought me to tears.The one thing that prevents this being a five-star show is its unfortunate descent into cheese towards the end, as we are turned to and implored to ‘REMEMBER’. I felt that this actually served to spoil the subtlety that the previous fifty-five minutes had been marked by. They should have realised their show was unforgettable already.
