A joyous highlight reel of the beloved source material
How does one make a queer show queerer? This seems to be the line the Puck Bunnies team took when imagining what their rendition of a parody might look like this Fringe. A completely femme team takes to the stage to deliver its highlights from the franchise that has taken the world by storm. Told through the familiar forms of drag performance and leaning into a panto-meets-musical-theatre style, the Puck Bunnies act, sing and dance their way through series one with brutal efficiency and great effect.
This is the kind of late-night show the Fringe thrives on. It is loud, energetic and adept at capturing its audience, with increasingly unexpected elements that showcase the truly ridiculous moments from the source material that have so enamoured audiences. That is to say, this show is horny, and the introduction of the Zamboner character, who serves as our narrator, ensures you will not forget that for a second.
From a performance perspective, this is a high-energy, self-contained piece with an extra dose of queer culture and musical-theatre pizzazz. It will have you gasping with laughter and, perhaps, contemplating a rewatch of the source material. Unfortunately, there is little that feels particularly new about the performance, and it falls into a classic conundrum of the parody genre: it is entirely presentational, leaving little to take away beyond an appreciation of drag if you did not already walk in with one. Add in the poor sound mixing, which left much of the musical material unintelligible, and the piece can risk alienating its audience.
Ultimately, Puck Bunnies is a brash, camp and thoroughly queer celebration of its source material. It may not reinvent the parody, but it knows exactly what kind of audience it wants and, for those willing to embrace the chaos, it delivers a gleefully ridiculous night out.
Show Listing: https://www.edfringe.com/
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter House – Other Yin
Dates: Aug 5th -31st ( excl 11th & 18th )
Time: 22:45 (60 mins)
Ticket prices: £14.50 / Concessions £13.50
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Suitable for 18+