Applin’s music is largely straightforward and sweet in its structure and as such, soprano Charlotte Wakefield’s crystalline clarity is perfect as its lead exponent. As Chloe, the young woman conflicted between a desire to explore the wider world but also to maintain fidelity to her beloved village, she’s wryly amusing in observing the minutiae of ‘Country Life’ and moving in the affecting emotional swirl of ‘They’re Only Dreams’ and ‘The White Elephant Stall’.
Applin and Susannah Pearse’s book and lyrics also tread a worthy but well-worked path, hardly ground-breaking in its musings on rural English life but finding comic depth beyond the stereotypes and compassion beneath the chequered tablecloths. Chloe’s relationship with Haydn Oakley’s Robert is again sweetly done, from ‘Ok’ to ‘Maybe in a Decade’, they’re a couple it is easy to invest in even as a love triangle gently threatens it.