Category Archives: *Ratings

‘The Ghost of a Smile’ (Venue 53, until AUG 26th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“In both tellings, the range of characters are showcased with the intimate care and consideration Josiah Wedgewood gave to the arrangement of his vases in his London showroom.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

Performance by Nicholas Collett plus Lines by Charles Dickens plus direction by Gavin Robertson is a winning curative formula. A cure for your tired, for your poor huddled Fringe-going masses yearning to see tip-top quality. Two tales, told on alternate days, written by the greatest storyteller of his day, delivered by one of the most accomplished thespians of ours.

‘The Queer Chair’ (from ‘The Pickwick Papers’) tells the story of Tom Smart who, sheltering from a storm in a cosy inn for the night, gets more than he bargained for – from a wizened and debauched piece of furniture. Tom likes the establishment, the food, the punch, the serving girls and especially the widowed landlady. But she is being pursued by a tall suitor, whom Tom takes an immediate dislike to. The haunted chair in his room has insights, an agenda, and a plan. Collett’s genius is to play this, let us admit, rather fanciful tale totally straight. He works with the material and never once against it. If you were ever looking for proof positive that Dickens, contrary to popular misconception, is a light, breezy, airy writer, as well as a perfect practitioner of pace, look no further than Collett’s expert polishing of ‘The Queer Chair’ which is brought up to a beautiful and lively shine.

‘The Ghosts of The Mail’ is set in Edinburgh. After a well-lubricated party in the old town, Jack Martin stumbles back to his lodgings via South Bridge and several other still familiar locations until he comes to rest at a yard compound containing the derelict skeletons of old mail coaches. There he falls asleep, or does he?, finding himself drawn into an episode of high adventure from the preceding eighteenth century, in the company of three creepy and mysterious fellow passengers. This story is less conversation and more action movie, giving Collett the opportunity to flex his muscles in a rapid succession of poses which reveal the sinews, form, and grace of his craft.

In both tellings, the range of characters are showcased with the intimate care and consideration Josiah Wedgewood gave to the arrangement of his vases in his London showroom. Hand up, I find Nick Collett more convincing as a lecherous antique and boozer than as a comely young barmaid or tall person. But each of his character sketches is so delightful, so well observed and proportioned that it’s impossible not to come away with a deeper understanding of, and admiration for, the great actor as master storyteller. The ghost of a smile? More like an ear-to-ear grin.

Come for the writing. Stay for the performance. Get your frock coats on and go see this!

 

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‘Who Stole My Hammer?’ (Venue 302, until AUG 28th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“Rosie Evans and Fiona Hawk are many, many things but most of all they are perfect.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

You can’t fake a kids’ show. The audience won’t let you. If what’s happening on stage is working, what’s happening in the audience will be a delight to behold. Little people bouncing up and down on the edge of their seats, squealing with excitement, enthralled to the storytelling. This is exactly the scene that would greet a latecomer to Myth-Fits ‘Who Stole My Hammer?’ But don’t be late. Don’t delay. This is easily one of the best kids’ shows we’ve seen all Fringe.

We’ve come en masse. Granny, Mummy, x3 daughters, and me. We brought a reasonable amount of Viking knowledge, but need not have bothered. Amid all the clever details and two finely-tuned performances hitting all the high notes, it would be easy to overlook a neat and compact exposition which establishes who the Vikings were, their love of stories, as well as the key figures in their pantheon of Gods. The explanations are over in the blink of the Allfather’s remaining eye and… …we’re off! like greyhounds from the slip, tearing along through the story of Thor, his hammer, Loki, Freyja, and the King of the Trolls.

Rosie Evans and Fiona Hawk are many, many things but most of all they are perfect. Their individual performances could not be improved, but together they are so, so much more than the sum of their considerable parts. The pacing, always a tough set of decisions in children’s theatre, is what you’d expect if a Bugatti Mistral had a baby with a Lamborghini Revuelto. It roars through the hour packing so much in that I suspect Mary Poppins herself taught Evans and Hawks how to pack a magic carpet bag.

The stars of the show are Odin’s twin ravens, Hugin and Munin, puppets so animated you’d be forgiven for thinking they are the ones in control. Perhaps they are. It’s not every show that offers the promise of having your mother-in-law’s nose to be nibbled off by memory and thought, which is another audience participation laurel in the show’s crowded crown. Daughter 3.0 (18 months), who managed to sleep through Doktor Kaboom (no mean feat) is wide awake and utterly entranced. ‘Who Stole My Hammer?’ will live forever in our family’s lore as the first piece of live performance that really connected with her.

In her notebook, the one with Mjölnir and a longship on the cover, Daughter 1.0 (8yrs) wrote: “I went to “Who stole my hammer?”! When I walked in I saw a stage and lots of boxes. with props inside. They told a story of Thor and his hammer witch whent missing! It turned out it had been stolen by a giant, ugly troll and Thor had to dress up as Frega (Goddess of love) to get his hammer back. And there was some black crows witch tried to peck people’s faces! I liked the bit where Thor dressed up as Freya. I really enjoyed it.”

EdFringe is a tough nut to crack, even when you’ve got Mjölnir in your prop back. It’s why details like getting your show’s title right matter. I’ll bet you a hat full of hack silver audiences would have been quicker to spot this absolute gem if it had been called, ‘Viking Bedtime Stories: Who Stole My Hammer?’. But that’s the only alteration I would suggest to this perfectly rigged, perfectly steered, perfectly sailed vessel as it takes audiences young and auld on a wonderful journey of fun and discovery.

 

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‘Biscuit Barrel: The 69-Sketch Show’ (Venue 14, until AUG 28th)

Posted in 4*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“THE hot young comedy act you promised yourself.”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars (Outstanding)

Sketch comedy is better than stand-up. Even the best stand-up is transient, speaking to a particular moment and then largely forgotten. Whereas even the most dated sketch comedy can raise a chuckle long after the material has lost the sheen of immediacy. You know I’m right because ‘Life of Brian’ is a sketch comedy. The overriding theme of Biscuit Barrel’s EdFringe offering this year is speed – 69 sketches in just an hour (that’s more than one a minute).

The results are a mixed bag of silly, sassy, smart, successful and less successful gags that induce belly laughter the way cats induce interest from dogs. Holly Meechan’s direction of the troupe is fast and furious while leaving space for a bubbly sense of spontaneity that frequently boils over without denying any one of the unforgiving minutes its worth of distance run. Tec problems? Meh. The AC unit deciding it wants to loudly try and shout down Krakatowa on a busy day? Forget about it. Nothing is going to phase these guys who are THE hot young comedy act you promised yourself.

The intellectual James Horscoft, the characterfully musical Capriella Hooper, the pacy Lily Maryon, the ultra-physical Daryl Reader, and the small but mighty Harry Brown – these are the names you’ll be hearing from again and again until they are but withered husks, exhausted and broken for our amusement. These guys work hard to land every gag. Who cares how many angels can dance on a pinhead, can they do sketch comedy this miraculously?

Sketch comedy is better than stand-up because it’s more theatrical, it takes more risks, it got waaaay more range, more depth, more insight into the human condition. Sketch comedy is art and you aren’t going to see it more artfully done this EdFringe than by Biscuit Barrel. My favourite sketch is the… go the see the show. I think the strongest performance was from… go see the show. Easily the biggest laugh was… go see the show.

Seriously, come for the speed, stay for the delivery get your coats on and go see this!

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‘Doktor Kaboom and the Wheel of Even More Science!’ (Venue 33, until AUG 27th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“This is a high-energy, purposeful show that for all the staging and kaboomery is ultimately a wonderful piece of auld-fashioned storytelling.”

Editorial Rating: 7 Stars (Outstanding)

The greatest feeling at Edinburgh Fringe is being there at the start of something big. I have a poster somewhere from when Bill Bailey was still small enough to be playing Pleasance Courtyard. The same air of excited anticipation can be felt anywhere near the orbit of Doktor Kaboom. Still only in its second year, this is a show that will (hopefully) become a Fringe staple an explosive mix of sound science, infotainment, madcap personality, and a makeshift hovercraft made out of an auld poker table ridden by a kid holding the most powerful electric leafblower money can buy.

We enter to see the titular Wheel of Even More Science which, like the senses, both opens and closes the spectrum of visible awesomeness. This will determine which experiments we’re going (and sadly not going) to get to see today. It’s the first of several madcap devices which bring order to the safety-conscious chaos hurtling from off the stage. Doktor Kaboom is the most serious funny person, possibly ever. He is a man on a mission with messages that need to be heard, especially by little ears.

First, he talks about self-esteem. The importance of visualising our goals and dreams as well as of sharing our problems before they make us buckle like an empty tin of paint full of steam. In an age when young people are deliberately bombarded with reasons to doubt themselves, reasons to give up or never try, it’s more than important that this essential scaffolding gets unboxed by an authority figure of such gravity. Ya?!

Second, Doktor Kaboom tells us and shows us how the scientific method works, how science is a team game, how science is about asking questions and showing our working out even if the answer is unexpected. For an extremely, atomic-level silly show – one that involves a catapult and many, many bananas – this is no mean feat of storytelling.

In her notebook, the one with a Dodge Tradesman Maxivan and a set of bongos on the cover, Daughter 1.0 (8 years) wrote: “I went to Doktor Kaboom and the wheel of even more sience! when I walked in I saw a masive wheel, a giant test tube and some red cups. We wanted to pick a thing to do and he would turn the wheel and sing “round and round she goes where she stops no body knows!” And witch ever thing it landed on we would do! the first we did a steam explosion then a hover craft, then a teenager in a bag and a vacume cleaner then, he did a banana catapult! I liked the bit where the hover craft flew across the Stage! I realy enjoyed it”

Daughter 2.0 (5 years) was the first child called up to participate. Obviously, it was the best part of the show almost as much for Doktor Kaboom’s patient, but Germanically firm, direction and encouragement as for Daughter 2.0’s innate talent and wonderfulness. Each of the children called up was given an experience they will never forget. It was a joy to behold. This is a high-energy, purposeful show that for all the staging and kaboomery is ultimately a wonderful piece of auld-fashioned storytelling.

Four years ago we awarded our first (and until now) only seven-star review. Like ‘Morgan & West: Unbelievable Science’ Doktor Kaboom is enlightening Scotland’s capital with a show that promotes learning for learning’s sake and which demonstrates that science done proper is really, really fun. To the mix he’s added an essential and urgent parabasis about how vulnerable our kids’ mental health is and what can be done to strengthen it.

Get your goggles, gloves, and labcoats on and go see this!

 

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‘Alice in Wonderland Musical’ (Greenside @ Riddle’s Court)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals, EdFestivals 2023, Musical Theatre, Other, Rated: Outstanding by

“SOME REAL STARS HERE AND SOME REAL STAR TURNS”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

It would be fair to say my youngest daughter is an Alice in Wonderland aficionado. She has various copies of the bookd. She knows every word of the Disney film. Burton’s work is on her radar. Her World Book Day get-up is normally Carroll-esque.

It was pretty clear  as soon as spotted an Alice-based show in Fringe we would be off to Riddle’s Court – a suitably Carroll-esque venue for the show – and down the rabbit hole of corridors to watch.

The show was packed and we were told that the show was a sell-out. My daughter sat next to me in full Cheshire Cat costume holding a Cheshire Cat stuffed toy. Breath, as they say, was baited. Few Fringe goers are as dedicated as this.

Over the next 45 minutes the young cast sing, dance, and dazzle their way through a range of songs whilst sticking to the well-known story of Alice. All of the famous characters join us as we build up to the famous croquet scene. (NB: there was post-show debate as to whether Tweedledum and Tweedledee are considered ‘canon’ as they appear in Through the Looking Glass but they appear in the Disney and Burton films. On balance their omission was considered acceptable).

There are some real stars and some real star turns. Charity Bielicki as Alice has a stunning voicewhilst Avi Walton is a wicked Queen of Hearts: she played the audience extremely well and her back and forth with the Playing Cards was very funny.

The songs though are strong throughout. The first song Let’s all go to the fair was a good, strong show tune starter although I’ll confess I wasn’t sure how it related to the story. Things picked up from there though The Song of M was clever and became suitably madcap when all the characters sing different songs at once. Everyone is Mad was fun as was the White Rabbit’s ‘Backwards Song’.

The director, Tim Nelson, treats us to some swing, some blues and some barbershop throughout and almost everything comes off. Ultimately it really whistles along with humour and brio.

I asked my Alice addict what I should give it out of 5. She said a hundred. This may seem like special pleading: she loves Alice and therefore would always give it a strong score. That is to misunderstand a true expert in her field: she went in a little worried that they would do it wrong; concerned that it wouldn’t be good enough. That she sat utterly rapt, no demands for snacks, whooping and cheering throughout suggests it really was a good show. I thought it was just lovely.

At the end of the show Alice went outside to have pictures with any children that wanted one. Mine, of course, went hunting out Cheshire Cat. The entire cast seemed utterly delighted the show was sold out and couldn’t have been friendlier or kinder to the children who went to speak to them at the end.

 

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‘Colonel Anne: Jacobite Heroine’ (Venue 45, until AUG 19th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Nae Bad by

“Despite many nettle dangers, the Dunn Players have stretched every fibre of their artistic being and plucked a flower – success.”

Editorial Rating:5 Stars (Nae Bad)

There is a grandeur about Scotland and Scottish life that is nought to do with the scenery. It comes from an ancient nobility of character and an elegant refinement of living. Like Livy’s Romans of the ancient Republic, the Scots of yesteryear were superior beings contrasted with their dowdier, less upstanding descendants who are but inheritors and not surpassers. It was those folk to be found in the North British baronial halls and urban drawing rooms of the 18th and early 19th centuries who built so much of what we now appreciate to be Scotland. We petty men walk under their huge legacy and peep about. It is no mean ambition to recreate their world as it was at the ‘45, to breathe life into characters as dynamic as Charles Edward Stuart, Butcher Cumberland, and Colonel Anne Mackintosh. Despite many nettle dangers, the Dunn Players have stretched every fibre of their artistic being and plucked a flower – success.

A cast of eleven in EdFringe terms is a cast of thousands. Together, marshalled under the direction of Kevin Purvis and under the watchful eye of James Shirreff as prompt, they deliver a spectacle as intimate as if Charles Martin Hardie had painted it and as lyrical as if Eddi Reader sang it. The true (and truly astonishing) story of Anne Mackintosh is of a heroine of that rising which won immortality for Bonnie Prince Charlie, if not the restored crown he sought. Colonel Anne defied her husband, the laird of Mackintosh, to raise and lead troops for the Jacobites. The neglect of Anne’s memory is a travesty only now being put right. This production is part of the campaign to provide a fitting memorial to Anne in Leith where even her grave is now lost. Considered alongside a similar movement to erect a statue honouring Dr Elsie Inglis, it seems Auld Reekie is finally doing something about the dearth of monuments honouring the great women of Scottish life. Barring the occasional fluffing of author David Shirreff’s excellent lines, this play is a strong sure step in the right direction.

As Colonel Anne, Carol Robson is the perfect balance of strident and seductive. She commands the stage as Boudiccea might have commanded a battlefield. Her delivery is a claymore thrust into the pomp and circumstance of the men she must outmanoeuvre. Not the least of them is Jerry Ponder as Lord Loudoun. Offstage Ponder, I have no doubt, is a fine fellow. Onstage he so perfectly inhabits the bumptious British Commander in the North that I find myself hoping a chandelier falls on him.

Peter Lerpiniere as Anne’s husband is another great balancing act. Neither too meek nor too mild. A man of peace in a time of war. As his mother, Lady Mackintosh, Fiona Drewery adds fierce gravity to what might otherwise be mistaken for a blousey costume drama. Genny Dixon, as love rival Elizabeth Campbell, is the ideal foil to Robson. Their chemistry is the spring in the step which keeps the drama on a human scale. Caught between them is Richard Jones as Alasair MacGillivray. Jones does not share much more time and space with Lerpiniere than Byron did with Foscolo, but the two big beasts circling one another make the jungle a more interesting patch of earth.

The humanising effect of Graham Bryans, as Anne’s blacksmith, as well as the young chap playing Mackintosh’s nephew, serve to contextualise the drama as an earthshaking event making ordinary folk tremble. Given the mighty fine performances of both Chris Drewery, as Cumberland, and John McEwen, as the Prince, there is a need for honest, ordinary folk to offset the great men of history being portrayed with such dash and style, vim and vinegar. But it’s the costumes, by Upper Circle Costume Hire in Kelso, which truly steal the show and make for an unmissable 80 minutes of spectacularly performed spectacle.

Come for a story which deserves to be told and retold till the rocks melt with the sun. Stay for performances which do more justice than Cumberland. Get your Justacorps on and go see this!

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‘Apple of My Eye’ (Venue 29, until AUG 19th)

Posted in *Written Interviews, 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“A tight and pacy insight into genius, spotlight with songs that even the most pompous and jaded critic of musical theatre as a legitimate genre cannot overly object to.”

Editorial Rating: 5 (Outstanding)

One year, and I’ve been telling myself this for a decade now, I’m going to spend a day at EdFringe at just one venue and see all the shows performed there from sunup to sundown. Doing so, I reckon, will be the best way to encounter great scripts and performances that I would otherwise miss. A trawler net in place of a fishing rod. If I ever do make good this plan, I hope the results will be as pleasantly surprising as ‘Apple of My Eye’ which I went into on my way out of the previous show at my favourite EdFringe venue.

Chances are that you’ve heard of Steve Jobs. The people untouched by this genius and innovator are now curiosities, clutching their Nokias like anyone would bother to steal them. Jobs rose and fell young then rose, phoenix-like, again before succumbing to a tragically early death. A true trailblazer he achieved astounding professional successes despite infamous personal shortcomings.

Early Mornings Productions is the vehicle for Joel Goodman and Jan Osborne’s musical mini masterpieces including their acclaimed biography of Alan Turning – and no, the Turing connection to the Apple logo is just a legend. What’s delivered in ‘Apple of My Eye’ is a tight and pacy insight into genius, spotlight with songs that even the most pompous and jaded critic of musical theatre as a legitimate genre cannot overly object to. The signature refrain ‘Abandoned, or Chosen’ roots this fine portraiture in the character and contradictions set in motion by Job’s adoption as a baby.

As Jobs, Stephen Smith owns the stage exuding a confidence and magnetism both authentic and essential. Smith is more reflective than apologetic, treading a fine line between ego and mania. Despite a technical glitch – one of the four auld iMacs used to amply Smith’s performance with AV is on the fritz – we are treated to a sense of just how much work has gone into doing justice to a life spent in pursuit of design simplicity. This is a show that sticks in the mind for all the right reasons.

Come for the portrait of a titan of our times. Stay for a production that hits all the high notes. Get your turtlenecks on and go see this!

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‘Upstart! Shakespeare’s Rebel Daughter Judith’ (Venue 24, until AUG 27th)

Posted in 4*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Nae Bad by

“Rachel Kitts sparks and sparkles throughout, her relationships making the drama”

Editorial Rating: 4 (Nae Bad)

Who was Judith Shakespeare? Did she have an identity beyond her close personal orbit around her father, England’s greatest teller of tales? Mary Jane Schaefer’s script takes a scholarly approach to the many possibilities, weaving the plausible threads into a monumental drama of ordinary lives lived in the shadow of a blazing star.

Together Rachel Kitts and Susannah May, representing the young and auld Judith, portray a woman frequently disappointed with her lot, the keeper of Shakespeare’s most infamous secret – the true identity and significance of The Dark Lady described in his sonnets (sonnets 127–152). May remains on stage throughout, a widowed country lady sitting in her easy chair, toying with her memories as they play out stage left. It’s the first of some bold decisions which make for a rather cumbersome and cluttered production saved by a very strong script and some excellent and memorable performances.

This is an unusually big show for a Fringe show. Big cast, big set and, at 80 minutes, it’s also a long one. Kitts sparks and sparkles throughout, her relationships making the drama: with the splendid Aisling Groves-McKeown as the peevish Anne Hathaway; with the debonair Angus Bhattacharya as her life’s true(ish) love Tom Quiney; with the fabulous Becky Sanneh as the mystery woman and as Judith’s sister Susanna; and with the cerebral Luke Millard as William Shakespeare. Roddy Lynch and Oscar Blend add strength and depth to the ensemble as a solid host of supporting characters.

The strong script hangs on familiar assumptions. That Mr and Mrs Shakespeare had an uneasy marriage. That their unhappiness was compounded by the tragic early death of their son, Judith’s twin. That scandal attached to the marriage of Judith and Tom. That Shakespeare’s infidelities as a travelling player caused much distress. That Shakespeare’s last will and testament is the key to unlocking his domestic circumstances. To these Schaefer’s script adds a bold and daring innovation concerning Judith which makes this show a must for every true Shakespearian.

Come for the bigness. Stay for some exquisite character work. Get your doublets on and go see this!

 

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‘Madame Chandelier’s Opera Party for Kids’ (Venue 13, until AUG 15th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“As extra-curricular activities go, this is the bee’s knees and spider’s ankles.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

Look, you’re busy. I’m busy. It’s halfway through EdFringe which was exhausting enough in our 20s before kids. So let’s just say what needs saying and try to get Tabbitha and Ossian through their next 8 shows without any more tears – clears throats, goes for fortissimo – ‘Madame Chandelier’s Opera Party for Kids’ is the one show you cannot, must not miss.

It is art. It is artistry. It is informative. It is bucketloads of fun. Where else are you going to watch a classically trained opera singer gag on one of the Harribos she’s given to the kids in the front row to throw into her mouth when she hits the high notes?

As Madam Chandelier, Canadian-British opera singer and comedian Delea Shand is the best discovery at the Fringe us parents and carers can make. It’s opera, so it’s classy. It’s opera done well, so it’s really good. It’s opera done clever, which makes it comprehensible. It’s opera done knowledgeably, which makes for a lot of in-jokes buffs can smugly chuckle at. As extra-curricular activities go, this is the bee’s knees and spider’s ankles.

Daughter 1.0 (8 years) wrote this in her notebook, the one with Elsa dressed as la fille du régiment on the cover: “I went to madam chandelier’s opera party for kids! When I walked in there was a big suitcase on a stool and a lady standing next to it. Madame chandelier talked about lots of opera singers and we Played a few games. I also liked when she was a mermaid and we had a pool party with fish and bubbles and pretend warter! She played the accordion. I realy liked the bit when we had to throw gummy bears at her (only on the high notes). and she got to be all of the charecters! I liked when we had a party at the end. I really enjoyed it”

There’s no filter on children. It’s what makes them unlike grown-ups. Grown-ups know how to pretend to like things. Grown-ups don’t tell you they’re bored or fidget when stillness is what’s needed. Grown-ups compromise themselves to conform with expectations. It’s what makes children impossible and impossibly fun to be around. So when you are in a room with dozens of happy, laughing children who are enjoying themselves too much to notice they are also learning, you know you’re on to a great and wonderful thing.

Come for the opera because opera is high art which good for you. Stay for a biggest, bestest, sometimes bizzarest show that reminds us why we have kids and will travel many miles to see great performers hitting all the high notes. Get your opera capes on and go see this!

 

‘Sh!t-faced Shakespeare®: Romeo and Juliet’ (Venue 150, until AUG 27th)

Posted in 4*, Comedy, EdFestivals, EdFestivals 2023, Pleasance, Pleasance, Potterrow & Teviot, Rated: Outstanding by

“A Fringe Institution”

Editorial Rating: 4 (Outstanding)

Gone are the days where you can have a glass of lunch and return to work. It is hard enough to get a way with a couple of snifters let alone get full-blown trollied. So as one of those who hanker for the good, old days it was pleasing to see the old ways continuing at Sh!t-faced Shakespeare.

The premise is simple. A cast of classically trained actors perform a whistle-stop Shakespearean play (this year: Romeo and Juliet). The twist being that one of the cast is, well, shit-faced.

And boy was she shit-faced.

The compere got the audience going outlining exactly how much the actor had put away. She explained how some audience members could get involved. There was a genuine buzz (NB: not easy in the EICC! A venue that is generally reserved for dreary conferences about tax).

How much had she drunk? A bottle of lager and half a bottle of voddie. That’s a decent knock. A cider was also mentioned.

The compere was involved throughout to intervene throughout as an ad hoc health and safety consultant: running on to ensure the drunk actor doesn’t actually play with a sword; ensuring the drunk cast member didn’t fall into the crowd; reminding the cast to do some Shakespeare etc.

The show started with a small dance scene. It was very obvious, very quickly which one of the cast was drunk. The evening I went along it was Benvolio (Maryam Grace) although I believe the night before it had been Juliet.

She, of course, absolutely steals the show whilst the rest of the cast desperately try to keep up as she does everything in her power to knock them off track. If there was any semblance of a fourth wall Grace rampages through it at every turn.

There was one hilarious moment of audience dialogue where Grace drops the ‘C bomb’, the compere runs on to tell her off and Grace  gets the audience to agree that in Scotland the word really is a friendly greeting. At another point she whipped the audience into a frenzy by shouting ”Fuck the patriarchy”. Throughout she is gold-dust and the audience absolutely love her.

Admittedly, at points some actual high-quality Shakespeare breaks out but never for too long as Grace tramples in.  The other actors just about manage not to be put off entirely and adeptly manage the mayhem that is ensuing around them and improvising their own gags.

Somehow, despite all this, the show just about runs to time and the feels incredibly slick. I’d be keen to see it again to see Grace sober and one of the others drunk (Romeo leathered would, I think, be quite something).

It is easy to see why this is a Fringe institution. The venue was full and the crowd cackled away throughout. It was clear that many have seen the show, or at least the concept, before and return for more… but isn’t that quite something when there is so much competition here in August?

I was as sober as the rest of the cast and, I suspect, that had I sunk a few beforehand the show would have been an entirely different beast.

Come for the concept. Stay for the Shakespeare. Get some beers in and go and see this.

 

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