Edinburgh Fringe 2023 – Reviews #5
by Brian Merriman
Assembly at George’s Square – Time:19.45 – Duration 60 minutes
Written and performed by Rupert Bevan – Directed by Lucy Rossen.
Rupert Bevan is energy and charm unleashed in his solo show from Melbourne ‘Darling Boy’. It’s a story that is hurled from the stage with so much power that it leaves the audience thrilled and exhausted.
This is an emotional coming out, coming-of-age story, of a young romantic looking for love for the first time. Bevan wins over the audience from the outset. His boyish charm and honest innocence tugs the heartstrings, as you laugh out loud at his adolescent clumsiness in the pursuit of love online, in clubs and closer to home.
As a scriptwriter, Bevan creates characters we care about. The maturing of his relationship with his parents, whom he finally begins to see as adults, is appealing and warm. His best friends are girls, and his limbs flail in all directions with unbridled excitement at the prospect of being liked. He worries, he hopes, and he wonders what to say and do constantly.
The pace of the comically poignant piece is relentless, as is the affection he engenders in his audience. He scratches all the stereotypes and sends his own up in wide-eyed wonderment. His emerging maturity unfurls throughout the many onstage dramas.
By the end of this action-packed hour, the ‘darling boy’ emerges as a lovable young man. A really strong script, very well directed by Lucy Rossen, that never falters in its pace or sincerity. No wonder it sold out in Melbourne.
Pleasance Courtyard Bunker 1 – Time 12.45 – Duration 60 minutes,
Produced by Love Song Productions.
Written and performed by Nathaniel Jones
There is an additional challenge at any Fringe in trying to create theatrical ‘magic’ in barren spaces. I’ve sat in a Yurt, two rooms with a 6’x6′ corner performance space, a blue shipping container with very comfortable seats, and now a grim bunker with very uncomfortable short-backed benches. And yet, there was magic.
Love Song productions steer off the mainstream in this queer folk musical to fine effect. Our hero (Jones) is a gentleman with a gentle manner. He croons his original songs with ease and innocence as he longs for earlier times of a golden age of Druids and Gods that granted wishes if the offering was appropriate.
He came out at 18 only to reflect after a series of failed relationships that his ‘first love’ may not have been that. His memory, triggered by reminiscence begins to clear, and he considers how youth, alcohol and a desire to be loved, do not actually mean consent.
He has no wish to be a victim, and that permeates the innocence and honesty in which his exploration of the past unfolds a darker story through aurally pleasing songs and a warm, sincere delivery.
Sing, River is a new chapter in exploring theatrical genres for experiences and identities only visible in more recent times. It is well constructed, written, delivered and sung and well worth a visit.
Pleasance Upstairs – Time: 14.45 – Duration: 60 minutes
Produced by GOYA Theatre Company.
Starring Rua Barron, Jordan Broatch, Gabrielle Friedman and Maddy Maguire.
Written by Sam Woof (Director) and Math Roberts (Musical Director).
Winner of the Musical Theatre Review’s 2022 Special Award.
Playing to a packed house, ‘Four Felons And A Funeral’ is as good a musical as a comedy. And it is really good. With a strong contemporary score, we meet our 4 ‘Felons’ as they kidnap their friend ‘Charlie’ to ensure his wishes are carried out.
With slapstick simplicity, the panic that ensues by being chased by Charlie’s Dad is hilarious. They flee to Dublin in Lola – a Fiat Punto, where even more comic contemporary obstacles thwart them leaving Charlie’s wishes as confused as their ill-thought-out ‘plan’.
With great songs by Sam Woolf (Director) and Math Roberts (Musical Director), the four characters all go on their own journey of loss, love, identity, relationships and a more mature friendship. Does Charlie’s Dad catch them? Does Charlie have the last laugh? Will you ever drink a pint of Guinness again?
No, we do though as this uplifting, well-directed, beautifully scored queer musical reels us in for a quality hour of original musical theatre. Bravo to the energetic and vocally soaring cast. This production is really good fun.
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