EDINBURGH 2023: Pick of the Programme - Musicals

With nearly 3000 shows now on sale for the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, trying to narrow down what to see can be a bit of a task. BWW reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue has selected her top ten picks across the festival programme to highlight the shows you really don't want to miss this year!

Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical

A Christmas Carol meets It's A Wonderful Life meets... *NSYNC. It's Christmas Eve 2009: seven years into the world-famous boy band's indefinite "hiatus", *NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick has until midnight to make a wish that could change his life forever. A parody musical featuring 12 original songs and plenty of 90s nostalgia! With music direction by Taylor J Williams (Hamilton, Moulin Rouge!) and sound design by Josh Millican (Six, The Band's Visit).

SCOTS

The musical history lesson that no one asked for but everyone needs! A Play, A Pie and A Pint shares the true(ish) story of our nation: its past, present and future, its triumphs and failures, all told by a figure who has seen it all... Scotland’s greatest invention and storyteller, The Toilet! From award-winning duo Noisemaker, Scots is an irreverent and rousing musical journey through the history of Scotland, that replays some of our nation’s most iconic (and forgotten) stories to answer the fundamental question: What makes a country? 

A Mountain for Elodie

When his daughter Elodie is born, Ben realises the closure he thought he'd found with his own long-dead father needs to be re-examined. Olivier Award-winning Polly Findlay directs the funny, heartbreaking new show from Benjamin Scheuer, the creator of Drama Desk Award-winning The Lion. 

Tones: A Hip-Hop Opera

What if you're not Black enough for the ends, but too Black for the rest of the world? Jerome, aka The Professor, is a man in battle with his identity, on a journey through the depths of Black-British culture, class, and belonging. Tones combines the gritty underground sounds of hip hop, grime, drill and the melodrama of opera, into a piece of gig theatre like no other. Join The Professor as he navigates the treacherous path to self-discovery. A new show from the company behind Bismillah! An ISIS Tragicomedy and It'll be Alt-Right on the Night.

2020 The Musical

You think you know this story. You don't. This brand-new musical celebrates human resilience in every form. From the West End stage to the shelves of Lidl, care homes to the doors of Number 10, these are the uplifting and unexpected true stories of everyday heroes as you've never heard them before. Featuring unprecedented levels of talent, you're invited to a heart-warming, show-stopping party. And unlike Downing Street, everyone's invited. 

Hello Kitty Must Die

You may think Fiona Yu is just another Hello Kitty stereotype... but you’d be dead wrong. From the Tony-winning producer of Six comes an outrageously irreverent world premiere musical mash-up of Asian feminism with a killer score. Fiona Yu is a high achieving, but highly disillusioned Chinese-American woman. She is fed up with the stereotypes forced onto her by a white, patriarchal society – namely that she is the human embodiment of a speechless cartoon feline. Based on the cult novel by Angela S Choi, this musical is a ruthless combination of sex, violence, and stilettos.

Nobody's Talking About Jamie

After Jamie's dumped, spin instructor Lily takes him in and he spends five years learning how to move forward, on a bike that doesn’t move. But what do you do when a friend breaks up with you? Celebrating the dizzying romance and heartbreaking tragedy of friendship, Jamie Finn blends storytelling, comedy and original music as he explores the chaotic wilderness of platonic love and searches for someone who will finally talk about Jamie! 

A Bit Too Much Hair

This gender euphoric cabaret is a musical paradise for thems, mens, femmes, and everyone in between. 'It’s a big, silly party where transness is centred and everyone is welcome' (Theatreview.org.nz) by artists from NZ and NYC! ‘It feels like hanging out with your friends at a house party. With a band. And rainbow glitter. Everyone’s wearing sequins. You’re inside but you can pretty much guarantee unicorns and bunnies are frolicking around in the garden.’

Eigg the Musical

Situated in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, the Isle of Eigg has a fascinating history of sovereignty. Not long ago, the inhabitants on Eigg faced a different type of invader; a celebrity Laird looking to create a Gaelic island utopia. Will the citizens support his vision? Can they put up with his antics? Can he accept that a medieval landlord mentality no longer works on Eigg? The transfer to community ownership hatched on Eigg is arguably the most captivating example of Scottish land reform. Come celebrate this small island tale at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August!

Public- The Musical

Usually avoid public bathrooms? Here's one you won't want to miss! This award-winning new musical follows four unlikely strangers who find themselves trapped together in a gender-neutral public toilet. With an hour to kill until maintenance arrives, the group navigates unexpected challenges, pungent opinions and some seriously sticky conversations. Created by queer-led theatre collective Stroud & Notes, Public – The Musical explores stories of identity, connection and compassion, alongside an electrifying pop/rock score. This will be a trip to the bathroom you'll never forget!

The full Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme is available at www.edfringe.com

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