The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

4 stars ****

The Spelling Bee makes a welcome return to the Fringe and this is an excellent production of it. A Bee is a very American peculiarity – to spelling competitions what Glee is to singing competitions.

We have … Read More

Gobsmell: The Musical

2 stars **

An unlikely story of the last remaining NHS dental surgery in Yorkshire having to be saved by a random American dentist fails to hit the mark in what was quite an uncomfortable show to sit through. It … Read More

Adam and Eve: The Musical

5 stars *****

This was a very funny take on the Adam and Eve story by a highly talented cast. The writing by Ben Hales was excellent with some very witty ideas and themes running throughout the show. Who knew … Read More

Damaged! – The Musical

1 star *

This was one of the most uncomfortable shows I have sat through and you could feel the rest of the small audience feeling equally uneasy. It started off with an audience-participation clapping number which simply didn’t happen, … Read More

Blood Ties

5 stars *****

This was an excellent new production from a Canadian writing team. Simply set in a single room the story unfolds of a surprise suicide on the eve of a wedding and how a group of friends cope … Read More

Between Empires

4 stars ****

This show had huge production values – professional singers and musicians, all miced and very well designed.

However – it was all far too loud. So loud in fact that we lost some of the words due … Read More

Assassins

4 stars ****

This was an excellent production of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Assassins’, a surreal look at various assassination attempts of US Presidents, some successful, some not so. It is a rarely done show by companies due to the large male … Read More

West End at the Fringe

3 stars ***

With a cast of professionals on board I would have hoped for a more rounded and polished cabaret/review style show than what we got. Don’t get me wrong, the show is very good but quite basic. The … Read More

1000 Suns

3 stars ***

This post-apocalyptic musical reminded me of a cross between We Will Rock You (the premise) and BioShock (the recorded voices). Unfortunately not much happens. True, there are love stories, parental defiance and a longing for a better … Read More

Armada

1 star *

Okay, good points – Jessa Liversidge who plays the Queen has a lovely voice and Victoria Hayles as Sarah tries really hard with what she has to work with. Also, sometimes the music is slightly too loud … Read More