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This show will have you in stitches, I almost fell off my seat.
It’s fantastic to see a fringe spoof achieve such wit without falling into self-congratulation. George Veer’s creation is of incredibly high calibre whilst managing to retain absolute self-deprecation for the pleasure of the audience, it is an utter joy. The action is continuous without being too much, and we never feel the energy level drop in this very fringe production. Working with what they have, the design by Zoë Molloy adds enormously to our engagement with the adventure.
George Veer himself has such natural comic ability not only in his writing, but in taking on the huge amount of acting challenges he throws at himself. This is of course assuming he’s not essentially playing himself, in which case the level at which he mocks himself for our amusement is magnificent. All of the ensemble are simply lovely and do a great job, however Molly Bird stands out as Roxie. Switching between the spoof space cheerleader and then an easy naturalism when the role requires means she is a joy to behold on stage. Aiden Willis as Evans pitches it perfectly, consistently downtrodden and then almost maniacal at the end, his talent as an actor shines. The music and occasional interjections by Ian Fleming are the icing on the cake, providing a lovely counterbalance to the enormous energy of the rest of the action on stage.
This production feels like it could easily transfer to other venues. The only downside is the necessity of all fringe productions to have a post-show ‘please spread the word’ chat – if this production moved off the fringe the ending could be perfectly held without this addition, though of course we cannot blame the cast for having to do this in Edinburgh. This show will have you in stitches, I almost fell off my seat.