Review: London Assurance
Dazzle might be the name of the hero’s ligging new bestie. But it’s what Dion Boucicault’s London Assurance (1841) directed by Tess Gill at BLT is about. And it’s what this production does. Gill’s production though blazes midsummer laughter. Leave the night to Shakespeare, this is high noon with a hangover. Worth several Dreams for miles around. A must-see.
Review: The Last Night Out
Very-well written, darkly comedic, more touchingly true, writer Paul M Bradley and Georgie Banks take this just as far as it’ll go. Highly recommended.
Review: A Caravan Named Desire
Anything by Alexander and Helen Millington is worth coming for. A Caravan Named Desire isn’t yet at the level of I Love Michael Ball but by the time you see it, it almost certainly will be. This is a team to watch and queue for.
Review: Surfing the Holyland
A profoundly joyous and a joyously profound show, touching on all those issues of assimilation, marriage drift and acceptance; as well as self-discovery. For most of all as Erin Hunter brings out with sparkling wit and straight looks, this is about women’s agency. Dive in, you’ll surface with a whoop.
Review: Viking 9-5
What can being in a game-show and acting as a Viking teach a 20-something man about life? A fact and fun-filled story written and performed by Tom Draper.
Review: Awful People
As someone who lists one of her pastimes as ‘spite’ Julie Burchill - who’s written the play Awful People with Daniel Raven – seems in remarkably forgiving mode. It’s a benign intergenerational tussle. Burchill and Raven have built up chuck-lists of late boomer assumptions. When the crisis arrives, outcomes are well-devised and pacy.
Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Enough questions with the child, cruelty and othering, to raise questions that don’t dissolve in a dream. Yet there’s light enough to resolve this too. A warmth between the lovers somehow drags us out from the mask of branches Terry revealingly doffs at the end. Absorbing and a must-see.
Review: A Bunch of Amateurs
Directed by Jacqui Freeman, this latest LLT offering sparkles in a heart-warming tribute to amateur dramatics, with a plot denouement as dizzying as a Shakespeare comedy. There’s not a weak link here. Indeed it’s to be hoped several newcomers will return.
Review: The Way Old Friends Do
In a show celebrating the revival of friendship, twice, through the love of a non-binary ABBA tribute band, it’s good to know who you can rely on. You can rely on this scintillating, bittersweet play too. Absolutely recommended.
Review: Quality Street
Don’t miss this exquisite confection. After this production, there’s possibly no return to the original. It’s a rethinking paying homage to both the sentiment, which it never upstages, and the brand and its factory-workers the comedy gave its name to.
Review: Sound of the Underground
It’ll remain one of the break-out, breakthrough, certainly ground-breaking shows this year.
Review: James and the Giant Peach
With memorable music and ensemble singing added to a first-rate BLT production, there’s no better Christmas show in town.
Review: Mother Goose
This is more than panto: it’s an affirmation of something that panto here welcomes in, in our time uniquely invoking layers as only Elizabethan/Jacobean drama can.
Review: Dinner With Groucho
McGuinness produces one of his finest works wrought from the sawdust of others and rendered it the burst of stars that irradiate the end.
Review: The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary!
An outstanding revival, full of fierce fun, pathos and a massive tragedy for Christmas, wrapped in red bon-bons.
Review: The Lavender Hill Mob
Certainly enjoyable and the second act shows what it might be. There’s not a moment’s longeurs
Review: Troy Hawke: Sigmund Troy’d!
Character comedy takes the audience on an hilarious flight of fancy
Review: Noises Off
An outstanding must-see, even for those who might have seen Noises Off more than once before.
Review: Short Plays 2022 New Venture Theatre, Brighton
Absorbing and a small feast of theme, acting and writing style.
Review: How to Catch a Karen
Baba Yaga weaves her spells on us, she is enthralling, with endless catch phrases, content tropes and challenges. Also, she goes there, and further!
Review: Love All
Another first-rank revival from JST, specialists in rediscoveries: a fitting end to Tom Littler’s tenure.
Review: The Comedy of Errors
One of the most vivid, aesthetically cogent, certainly funniest OFS productions
Review: Church Girl, Interrupted
An amusing hour spent in the company of a delightful former evangelical Christian.
Review: Born Under a Bad Sign
A brilliant exploration of what hope can do when you follow a team that’s not one of the big two…
Review: An A to Z of Fish and Chips
"a pleasing show that may just leave you restless to plunge a little wooden fork into a saveloy."
Review: Too Fat for China
A funny and sometimes heartbreaking story of one couple's journey to international adoption.
Review: Tom Little Has Good Reviews So Prepare to Be Impressed
An hour of fast-paced, warm and intelligent comedy with plenty of surreal and funny twists
Review: Up Her Sleeve
An insightful journey of a young girl from childhood to adult through a number of difficult periods
Review: Michelle Kalt: God Hates You
A good hour or so in the company of a very funny Swiss comedienne
Review: Waiting For God
Sarah Mann and Nathan Ariss lead a fine company into a dash to eternity and back. With a memorable finale of two weddings and a funeral.
Review: Ian Lynam:Autistic Licence
Verbal and visual funny man from autism's front line (and with blue hair)
Review: Palimpsest
A very creative and funny show about going on a date and finding yourself in a show.
Review: North Star (What I Listed to Instead of My Intuition)
North Star was heartfelt, uplifting, and enjoyable at times.
Review: Earwig
A fast-paced elegant exploration of female emancipation in the 1920’s world of entomology (things with wings that sting!)
Review: One of Two
Wry, poetic and just plain angry - a comedy drama from a young Scot about him, his twin and why life has treated them differently.
Review: Wilf
: Profound, hilarious comedy where gay tart Calvin tries to sort out his life and mental health with the help Wilf, a rusty Volkswagen polo.
Review: The MP, Aunty Mandy and Me
A young gay man from a small northern village gets sucked into the heady world of working for his local MP, and faces many big dilemmas.
Review: The Last Return
A highly entertaining ensemble performance that is a masterclass in characterisation and comedic timing
Review: Spill Your Drink – A Deaf Cabaret
A rude, riotous celebration of Scottish deaf talent for everyone to enjoy.
Review: Weegie Hink Ae That?
Ye just canny whack it, sae ye cannae – pure Scottish humour that hits every funny bone you have.
Review: Boris the Third
A lighthearted telling of Boris Johnson’s less than successful acting career. Slapstick abounds!
Review: Little Git
A musical story of everyday disappointment, told by two musicians, reaching a significant age with equally significant decisions to be made.
Review: Famous Puppet Death Scenes
"A visually appealing and brilliantly creative massacre of tiny people."
Review: Notflix: Binge
Five actors, one movie idea, a suggested setting, and off they go to improvise a musical
Review: Horrible Herstories
An attempt, in the best possible tradition to retell a history which was very much her story to tell
Review: Done to Death, By Jove!
Traditional fare of the English murder mystery served wrapped in a conundrum of a puzzle with Marple, Poirot, Holmes and a far from elementary theatrical solution
Review: Classic!
A world record attempt at 42 classic texts in one go that provides joy in an uneven presentation.
Review: A Political Breakfast
An amusing hour in the company of three fixers giving us humorous solutions to the pressing issues of the day.
Review: Harry Potter or My Girlfriend… Who Do I Love More?
A very funny hour in the company of a comedy wizard
Review: Self Service
Original idea, well developed and crafted. Mild-mannered delivery is refreshing!
Review: Sylus 2024
A quick witted comedy improv look at a potential 2024 candidate for U.S. President
Review: War of the Worlds (On a Budget)
The unmissable, definitive version of a a budget-driven War of the Worlds
Review: With all Jew respect
"a host that left me wanting to follow him out of the theatre into the bar to continue the not always kosher conversation."
Review: The Tempest
A joyous production, that without its gimmicky close, could certainly furnish a way in for many
Review: Jack Absolute Flies Again
What Richard Bean and Oliver Chris manage is homage, both to Sheridan’s shade, his early bawdy, and despite anything a memorial to those who laughed at themselves to death. A must-see.
Review: Much Ado About Nothing
This isn’t the most revelatory Much Ado, but the most consummate and complete for a while.
Review: Communicating Doors
An excellent revival and the best chance to see this remarkable thriller-cum-farce-cum-meditation.
Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
An exciting sense of being at the cusp of a new generation. There’s no knowing where this Dream might end.
Review: Dad’s Army
You feel you’ve been part of an invited audience at one of the original TV productions
Review: The False Servant
It’s not just gender-swerving but role-swerving that threatens sexual and social order. Surprises light up even the last fade.
Review: Cluedo
An object lesson in comic timing; a steep cut above the ‘real’ whodunnits we’re likely to see this year or next.
Review: Artificial Intelligence Improvisation
Professional improvisers beware. The robots are after your jobs.
Review: Laughing Horse Clean Pick of The Fringe
The best stand up-up comedy from the fringe but with the swear words removed!
© 2018 Fringe Review
All Rights reserved
Links
Help us to keep FringeReview free.
Make a donation to show you value what we do.
