A Body to Diet For

Unrated

Mix the worst diction I’ve heard this year with percussion which was far, far too loud and the drunken cast of 8 Storeys Up whooping and yelling in the front row at god-knows-what and you get a production which … Read More

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

Inspector Norse

****

There is a beguiling charm about this parody of things Swedish in this detective comedy written and performed by Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding. There is one aspect of this production which makes it unique. Never have I seen … Read More

Minnie and Mona Play Dead

***

Minnie and Mona are two young adolescent girls who play games of ‘what if’ and use their vivid imaginations to take on scenes of fantasy, some life affirming, others evoking mental distress. As such and despite the dark humour, … 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