Tag: edinburgh festival fringe

REVIEW: 30 and out

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

“Powerful and moving with sexy grapefruits”

‘Mum, I’m a lesbian. Sorry it’s late but grab a rainbow flag… I’m 30 and I’m coming out.’

The tagline for 30 and Out grabs attention and provides a space for all those discovering their sexuality after puberty. 

As more and more queer stories are being told, the late realisers are finally getting their stories heard. And thank f*ck for that. As someone who came out at 31 it’s often easy to feel alone, like the LGBTQ+ world doesn’t belong to you, and theatre like this help amplify your voices. 

Written and performed by Kit Sinclair it’s a true exploration of the explosion of emotions and expectations when attempting to live your truth after occupying a normative space. The lost friendships, the new ones, forcing yourself into spaces because you feel you should occupy them.

Kit uses a huge variety of narrative devices to guide us through her story with lots of laughter and poignancy. The whole show is captioned and is a fabulous example of making accessibility work within the concept. 

Kits performance is committed and nuanced although I found the speed in the scenes sometimes stopped the potential climax throughout. When the topic turns to discrimination I expected to be more moved but time isn’t allowed. 

Definitely a top queer show and now everytime I see a grapefruit I get slightly aroused. 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/30-and-out

REVIEW: A good panto Die Hard

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Ridiculously good for a Panto

I’ll be honest – I wasn’t sure. I’m a Die Hard fan and my inclination was that the panto element might be a step too far. I was wrong. So wrong. 

Starting strong with a rewritten ‘Cheers Theme’, Where everybody knows your name, it’s John Maclane….version, the genius of this show then just doesn’t stop.

The panto elements are infused throughout with the early established Yippee-ki-yay MotherF*cker Callback led to my mam leaning over and asking ‘Is that from Die Hard’.

Where the show excels is the treatment of the subject and the style, although a parody, the nuances and style of panto is honoured, not just in the writing but in the presentation. 

The cast, Shane McDaid, Bradley Hawkes, Belle Quinland and Alex Stewart, play a myriad of your favourite characters from Argyl to FBI Agent Big Johnson. The whole cast are stupidly talented, from accents to vocals they are really what you’d call quadruple threats.That being said, a special mention should go to Bradley Hawkes who had me weeping with laughter almost every time they entered the stage. 

What’s difficult with a multi roling, setless show in a plain black box when telling a well known story is not wanting to miss the in jokes that Die Hard fans are here for. The team conquers this with creativity, from props, to costume, to flags, each clever and unique and gives the audience what they want while keeping to that fringe budget.  

Director Vicky Gimby has done a great job pulling out every ounce of humour and showcases the cast. 

Songs are catchy and nostalgic just as pantomime should be – don’t even get me started on the Duran Duran medley, it’s worth going to see the show just for this. 

This show belongs on the fringe, executed to perfection and leaving audiences ready to take the real debate home…. Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie? In this reviewer’s eyes and heart yes! 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/good-panto-die-hard

REVIEW: Murder Inc.

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Fast-paced, funny and slick

Murder Inc Improv from Manchester are making their Edinburgh debut after 8 years of wowing predominantly northern audiences they’re here to make their mark. 

On entry to the venue, audiences are asked to vote on locations for the show with the BIG TESCO winning out. Around the room are QR Codes (Fiddly because like most of Edinburgh data is spotty at best)  but once achieved we’ve loaded a google form and figure out we’ll be participating too.

And then we’re off. An impressively slick and talented group take the stage, made up of: 

  • Kate McCabe
  • Darryl Fishwick
  • David Stanier
  • Rob Gilroy
  • Harry May-Bedell
  • Jade Fearnley

The first half of the show we meet the characters (audience suggestions), explore intriguing scenarios such as Boss chats in the loo (also audience suggestions),, unicorn riding and lost property of children. Then the unthinkable happens, Dennis is murdered – a true who dunnit. 

As an audience we are then invited to vote on who we think is the murderer and potential motives.  

The improv returns and finally our killer is revealed.

It’s a madcap caper and the whole team are incredibly quick on their feet – accents and hilarious storylines propelling the show forward with laughter and speed. 

For those of you who enjoy Improv you won’t be disappointed!

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/murder-inc

REVIEW: Molly

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 3 out of 5.

A heart wrenching dark comedy

Molly is the story of a young woman who works at Greggs, parties on the weekends and goes through the unthinkable. 

The set up is simple – we meet Molly in all her Greggs garb and we even get to see her love of sausage rolls. We learn she’s single, loves her job and all the regulars, and on the weekend indulges in a bit of cocaine. 

The writing is very human, funny and beautifully put together. The structure is fluid and the passing of time clear. Actually, one of my favourites is the week that goes by in a blink of an eye. 

Molly’s weekends are projected on the back screen via a secret camera in her bathroom, making the audience creepy observers of intimate moments. It is here we also experience Molly’s relationship with Dave in the form of drunken messages.

Sundays were often explored in complete darkness with a ticking clock on the back wall – a device mainly for the character to get changed I would think. This often felt a little awkward and ended up dipping the energy in the room. 

Molly, played by Katie Akerman, is almost a caricature and it is here where I felt most disconnected. Because of that, when the distressing themes happen later in the show the emotional pay off didn’t achieve its potential. 

The voicemail section was heart wrenching – as a survivor myself, the parallels were identifiable and I felt the most connected to Molly in this section. 

I’d recommend checking out the trigger warnings before going, but this feels like a story that should be seen.

REVIEW: MUSIC

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A quirky and clever look at the AI revolution

A comedy play about AI taking over the music industry was my first pick when booking in reviews. The concept is fully in the zeitgeist as becoming more and more fraught. 

The show centres on Dave, a House Band Musician/Receptionist whose only ambition (he doesn’t have dreams) is to become…. A full time receptionist. On the way he ends up swallowing a music algorithm intent to take over the world. 

Perhaps a warning to consumers? 

Throughout I kept coming back to parallels with Little Shop of Horrors but that may just be the musical theatre geek in me. Although it also gave Shaun of the Dead/The World’s End vibes. 

The writing is funny and nuanced, full of puns and music references which play to a wide audience. 

The duo interact delightfully and have an easy skill – adapting to tech issues and audience interactions with a comic flair. Dave is so likeable and I actually can’t stop humming his rendition of “Zeroes and Ones”. 

This show is an enjoyable look at a real problem – bringing it to literal life with humour and fun. Why wouldn’t you go?

REVIEW: Eden Sher – I was on a Sitcom

Published on by Scott RedmondLeave a comment

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A genuinely touching show about pregnancy, hidden behind sitcom marketing.

The biggest issue I can take with Eden Sher’s I Was on a Sitcom is in the title. This is not a show just about being on a sitcom. This is a beautiful, hilarious, and moving show about the potential trauma of complications with pregnancy and postnatal depression. 

Maybe that’s not entirely fair, the first five or so minutes of the show address her stardom on American network sitcom The Middle. Here she recites quotes from her character and gives anecdotes about being mistaken for her own fictional identity in public, and they are by far the weakest segment of the show. There is an overreliance here on being recognised above content, which is a shame when the rest of the hour is so wonderfully put together. 

Her tale of being pregnant with significantly premature twins, and the subsequent birth is gripping and genuinely very funny. The broad facial range required for sitcom acting here gives emphasis to punchlines, lending big laughs to even a single word. The movement of the piece sometimes falls into somewhat cliche one person show physical theatre (this is certainly solo theatre, not stand up), but the emotion behind the piece, and the joy Sher is taking from performing it are obvious. At one point, she apologises to the audience for crying at the wrong moment and, whether staged or not, lends a weight and a feeling of reality to the piece. 

If this all sounds massively worthy, it is not to suggest that this isn’t a massively funny piece. The timing on punchlines, and the occasional surreal turn of phrase are used wonderfully here. This is a show well worth watching, even if you have never seen the sitcom the marketing is based on. 

Eden Sher: I Was On a Sitcom, Gilded Ballon, 8.20pm

REVIEW: Men Who Are Being Preserved in Oil (with Nate and Ed)

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 3 out of 5.

A future phenomenon

Opening their show with a song about Cucks is a strong start for the duo who’s show explores archetypes of 2010’s men. What the duo have in spades, is charm and crazily intelligent humour, some of which is translatable, some less so. You just need to be careful if you’re not a 2010’s male archetypes fan – you may get lost in the insanely specific references. 

I can imagine this duo being future superstars of sketch tv such as Saturday Night Live, cult classics with their own following of those who really do know as much as they do about Mitt Romeny. 

Their musical skills are impressive and for a musical theatre geek in particular, their nuance in that style is very entertaining. 

Where the show lacks the impact the duo deserves, is in its structure and staging. A clearer narrative stringing together the sketches/songs would elevate the work in general, including making it clear that the final song is indeed the end. Additionally, in terms of stage lighting, the pair had the audience lit up during the whole show while not being lit themselves (I believe this was a technical error), but unfortunately it further lends itself to the feel that this show is more a workshop rather than the final polished piece.

Overall, definitely go see this duo at the start of their journey, it’s worth it!

REVIEW: Myles and Dan Might Just Break a World Record Tonight

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Outstanding, original, joyous sketch comedy

It seems like everywhere you turn in Edinburgh you could find a sketch comedy duo trying to put their stamp on the form. Myles and Dan are no different – aside from the fact that it seems they’ve achieved it. 

Having worked together for 10 years the chemistry and connection between the pair is undeniable. It fizzes from the stage and embraces the audience – helping them buy into the theme. Kind of what it says on the tin, the pair try to break a specific world record, 50 sketches in 50 minutes. 

Both performers are without a doubt some of the best actors I’ve seen across the fringe. The believability and commitment is only enhanced by the speed at which they switch from high emotions and impressive characters. 

The sketches themselves are smart, subversive, weird and wonderful – their style usually to present an ambiguous situation then deliver the title as a wonderful punchline. But my favourite had to be….amoeba!

Where the show stands out is the structure – every interaction is placed perfectly to build and create a narrative that by the ‘emotional’ part you’re fully invested. Halfway through when the energy starts to dip the pair deliver the perfect reboost with a ‘Improv’ Sketch – which left me weeping with laughter. 

Having to contend with drunk know it alls and a quite impressive sound bleed they handle it all with grace and skill.

Did they do it? 

Well you’ll just have to go see it now, won’t you?

REVIEW: Adventure Bubble Show with Milkshake

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The best kids show (which pleases adults) I have ever seen

Let me preface this with me being a huge fan of bubbles. For ages I identified with that little fish in Finding Nemo who spent his life looking for them bubbles. 

That being said this really is a magical family show that deserves the sold out audiences coming its way. 

The show follows Dr Bubble as his puppet Milkshake comes alive – across the hour they discover that to have good friends you must be a good friend. The pair are seamless – picking up issues and adapting in the moment (bubbles are fickle) and with joy and character.

The show is non-verbal so accessibility is impressive. The physicality and clowning from the duo is a joy to watch and again slick and professional. 

The bubbles are actually insane. Like it shouldn’t be possible to do that with literally soap bubbles. From rockets, to snowmen and the most dazzling umbrella display children are enrapt for an hour – which for parents is a dream.

But it’s not just the children, gazing round the room it’s the parents that gasp as an hexagonal bubble is produced, the parents who laugh and the shaving jokes and the parents who get to show off their child inside a bubble to everyone they meet afterwards. 

For those of you not comfortable with sneaking into a kids show at 10am with no child – the pair also have sexy bubble show so don’t worry.

See you there!

REVIEW: Lena

Published on by Natalie GoringLeave a comment

Rating: 3 out of 5.

A sad story wrapped up in music

Lena is the brand new ‘play with music’ written by BAFTA and Olivier award-winner Tim Whitnall showing at Assembly this August.

It follows the Rise and Fall of Lena Zavaroni a child star whose journey was in contrast to the glittering shine of Opportunity Knocks. The show is hosted by Hughie Green – the Simon Cowell in the story although it is also narrated throughout by the Father. 

Storywise we travel through the ages from 9 to 35 and hit on some of the biggest milestones, although delving into her life in my post show google I’m surprised other points were missed. I do always think biopic musicals are hard, the ability to showcase the full depth of a life across decades is rarely successful and I think this show suffers from that. 

Where I personally felt the show fell short was the way they’ve chosen to allow Lena to remain voiceless. Her story is told by those around her and ultimately without much joy. The father character particularly orates how much of a victim he was in the situation throughout and it reads as playing the victim. His opening speech is so dismissive of the mother and to me he treats her as such in the remainder of the show. 

Erin Armstrong is a beautiful vocalist and performer and shines as Lena, particularly in her Opportunity Knocks audition, the room quieting to that magical silence where you can hear a pin drop. 

Overall it feels like the writing doesn’t realise its aim to reflect the pressure of media/fame on mental health which could easily still be relevant.