The Marie Curie Project or The Element In The Room was the latest offering from Tangram Theatre; a work-in-progress showing of a musical comedy about the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Marie Curie and her quest to fund more experiments using the element she discovered – Radium.

The periodic table and the travels of a publicity shy Polish lady most at home in her laboratory are difficult subjects to bring to life and set to music, but John Hinton and Jo Eagle have created a piece which entertains and informs.

Hinton’s energetic performance was captivating with quick changes between characters, all beautifully underscored by Eagle as Pierre Curie on the accordion.

The elements of audience interaction had a tendency to become chaotic, with a game describing the chemical breakdown of elements feeling a little too complex. A gentle warm up of the audience at the beginning and interspersing the game throughout could have led to a more playful interaction.

The narrative also needed a clearer purpose to guide the audience through the history, leaving with a clear sense of what Marie Curie achieved.

This project is crammed full of excellent ideas and wit – the final piece promises to be truly explosive.

Three stars