‘Drip’ celebrates the small joys of life, with a pie on the side

Drip is the first show in Inis Nua Theatre Company’s Pop-up Plays in a Pub Series. This production series is presented at Fergie’s Pub, with admission including a free glass of beer or wine, and a savory pie from local British pie shop, Stargazy.

Admission includes a complimentary glass of beer or wine and a savory pie from Stargazy, a local British pie shop.

Drip, a one-person musical making its American premiere, is a unique theatrical experience that is joyful, sweet, and simple.

Liam (Max Gallagher) is an awkward teen in the British town of Hull, who joins a new synchronized swimming team in the hopes of helping their best friend Caz win the annual Project Prize at school.

The only downside is that the team is just the two of them and … Liam doesn’t know how to swim. The anxiety around the public performance, Liam’s relationships with both Caz and the cute, older swimming instructor, Josh, are the driving force behind the show.

We don’t ever see the other characters, but Gallagher does a great job of establishing their presence through dialogue.

The story’s simplicity invites the audience to connect deeply with Liam’s challenges and small triumphs. Director Kyle Metzger uses a minimal setup — string lights, inflatable pool animals, and other modest props — to keep the focus on the text and Gallagher’s performance.

Gallagher plays Liam with an exuberance that is delightful and heartwarming. Their voice is expressive and suits the material well, paired with excellent dialog delivery.

Though the character of Liam is written to be queer and Gallagher is a trans artist, the play isn’t about Liam’s queerness. Instead, it is about an experience that all teenagers and former teenagers can relate to: the anxiety and pressure of young friendships and the trepidations of school presentations.

While the script’s simplicity heightens the piece, the score’s simplicity presents itself as lackluster at times.

The songs are meant to present themselves as ditties written by a 15-year-old. They definitely capture that spirit but also illustrate the fact that not every song written by a 15-year-old is great.

However, the tunes were great at inviting audience participation, complemented with bubbles, a wind chime, and a jaunty sing-a-long at the finale.

That last song almost made up for how brief and anecdotal the other songs often felt (with one exception for Caz’s song in a parking lot, which is spectacular, proving how good these songs could be with more attention).

Drip doesn’t take an audience on a flashy or dramatic roller coaster but shows us that we’re all human, and that there can be so much joy, anxiety, fear, and whimsy in the little everyday parts of life.

The show is a small bit of joy that makes a heartfelt statement through its casting and earnestness, reminding us in the final number that whoever we are, we should all “make, make, make a splash.”

Through Nov. 24 at Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom St, Philadelphia; inisnuatheatre.org/show/drip. Running time: 1 hour

Theater reviews are produced independently by The Inquirer without editorial input by their sponsor, Visit Philadelphia.

An earlier version of the review misidentified Max Gallagher’s sexual identity. They are transgender.