Edinburgh Fringe 2008

My thoughts from Edinburgh 2008:

Miss Sign-On:
Music is instantly forgettable and I struggled with some of the characters, but if you work in (or just have very good knowledge of) theatre, then the jokes will ring very true and it's a good giggle.

Jet Set Go:
Hilaaaarious. Lots of room for character development but such a fun, fun, fun way to spend a couple of hours. Give the comparative inexperience of the cast, they are more than holding their own at George Square and completely deserved the 5* review in Three Weeks.

Departure Lounge:
I'll admit my bias, as not only do I know the writer, but one of my clients was also in the show, but I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough. It's funny, touching and resonates so, so well. Everyone has been one of those boys. Deserves to have life post-Edinburgh.

Only The Brave:
Completely underwhelmed. Trying too hard to be Les Mis. The 'epic love story' that they are trailing between Keith and Niamh is about as epic as an episode of The Simpsons. Some nice music - the song with the women typing the messages is lovely - but the book is dreadful as there is just no story and I am really struggling to see why there's so much hype.

Showstopper, The Improvised Musical:
Was fortunate enough to have booked for this on a night when they announced Mike McShane would be appearing. FANTASTIC. There is clearly a formula, but the humour is intelligent and very funny. We wound up with a show about remorse, featuring songs in the style of Disney, Starlight Express, Bombay Dreams, Blood Brothers and an irish folk song. Fabulous.

Sa-Choom:
The 'dancical' at George Square. I was slightly disappointed as I'd heard SUCH good things about it and it didn't quite live up to my expectations (perhaps because it wasn't a very lively audience) but still very entertaining.

A History of Scotland (in 60 minutes or less):
Great fun if you're 7. All the kids seemed to love it but the humour was very childlike.

Zanna Don't!:
So camp it hurts, but fantastic fun. Make really good use of the space, but I do wonder if it's telling that the show is completely stolen by a little blue bird...

The Jonah Boy:
Too lovely for words, and very touching. Worth the ticket price alone for a fantastic performance in the lead role. Haunting.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Take Note's production):
I don't think it's as strong as Jet Set Go, but highlighted nicely the strengths of some of the cast.

Perfect Pitch in Concert:
Again, an element of bias as I had two clients involved in this one, but really loved seeing such a strong selection of new British musicals being showcased and being so well received.