Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Endometriosis: The Musical
Ripped Nylons Productions
Genre: Comedy, Feminist Theatre, Musical Theatre
Venue: Gilded Balloon
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Ripped Nylons Productions arrives to the Edinburgh Fringe after earning artist, venue and audience pick at the Minnesota Fringe 2022. This hilarious, offbeat, slick comedy musical is likely to become another Fringe favourite in Edinburgh, boasting a cast chock-full of talent to showcase its important message.
Review
Endometriosis: The Musical’s website quotes some sobering statistics: 1 in 7 women have endometriosis, and it takes more than a decade on average to diagnose. With this in mind, it’s hard to imagine how book writer Maria Bartholdi and music writer Kristin Stowell might manage to balance this with off-beat comedy that appropriately communicates the urgency of the crisis in women’s health care. Sometimes in the face of great adversity, however, you have to laugh, or you’ll cry.
We are introduced first to the all-singing, all-dancing world of ‘Business, Incorporated’, where Jane is rearing up for a big business opportunity when disaster strikes in the form of an agonisingly painful period. The sympathetic chuckles from the audience that follow display just how relatable this tragic dilemma is to anyone unlucky enough to be struck down with day one period cramps. Melodrama is the perfect way to explore the heightened, artificial world of the corporate landscape, and the show pokes gentle fun at the millennial ‘girl boss feminism’ trend of the 2010s that trapped women into downplaying their personhood for the sake of advancing in their careers.
Fans of Starkid and off-beat, irreverent sitcoms like ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’, ‘Community’ and ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ will eat this show up. The unhinged, absurd gags involving random bear attacks and sexy syringes stop it from ever feeling too predictable. The whole cast are completely committed to the absurdity and their energy never falters from beginning to end.
The songs are well-written and fantastically performed, even though they haven’t managed to stick in my head after the show. A stand-out was a song about all the different ridiculous ways we dance around talking about periods (everyone agrees it’s much more appropriate to call a period a ‘missed opportunity’.)
A standout of the cast is Lorelai Frank, who’s physical performance is unmatchable as Gina. That being said, every single member of the cast is brilliant, hilarious and a master of their craft. Jason Zuckerman, the overconfident businessman Brad, shines in every scene, giving a whole new meaning to ‘exit: pursued by a bear’. The whole show is slick and pacey, every second accounted for. Angelo Harrington II is an incredible dancer (how does anyone move their hips like that?!), and Sarah Henrichsen is balances a sympathetic and nuanced performance along with the cheesy melodrama of the world of her office.
I was surprised to find myself emotional during Jane’s ballad, where she works through the frustration of not being taken seriously by a carousel of doctors. It’s a sad reality to face that so much of the audience, predominately female, will have experienced the pain of being told that your symptoms are all in your head.
Although I wish Jane could have taken a match to the whole broken system, even paid menstrual leave feels like a fantasy right now, and one that would make a real difference to the lives of many. While it has a clear agenda to push, it is a worthy one; entertainment is never sacrificed for the sake of the message, and the whole thing is a riot from start to finish.
