EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BLOOD TIES, theSpace @ Venue 45, August 13 2013

'Blood Ties', by cast members Anika Johnson and Barbara Johnston, seems to have had quite a journey pre-Fringe. Written when the two were at theatre school, the musical has since featured in various festivals and five years later, its fourth draft arrives in Edinburgh in what appears to be a final hurrah for the show.

It's in great shape - the story of a wedding, a suicide and a secret rattles along brilliantly. Initially, we meet the bride-to-be's best friend Franny (Johnson), best guy friend Paul (Carter Hayden) and best gay friend Larry (Micheal De Rose), and when, almost immediately, blood is found in the bathroom and a noise is heard from someone approaching from a corridor, there's an air of terror that's both palpable and quite unexpected - one braces for all sorts of gruesome goings-on.

Admitttedly, the show never gets quite as grim as I expected, but it's always thoroughly entertaining, thanks to a witty script, some effective (if fairly simplistic) lyrics and the terrific chemistry between cast members. De Rose is warm, funny and loveable as the camp Larry (bit of a stereotype but when it's this much fun, who cares) and Barbara Johnston is great as the promiscuous maid of honour. Anika Johnson as Sheila is in an interesting position being both the heart of the show and, well, something else. She too does really well, and delivers the best vocal performance.

By the end, while thoroughly entertained, I had a niggling feeling that the piece could have gone further, and I do hope future projects by Johnson & Johnston might push the boundaries of taste in musical theatre and dial the grotesqueness up a notch. Something tells me they've got it in them.

'Blood Ties' runs nightly (except Sundays) at 21:05 until August 24.

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