EDINBURGH 2025: Review: EDINBURGH DAYS, St Bride's Centre

A Celtic rock ‘Les Miserables’, Edinburgh Days opens on our antagonist in 1815. Acting as narrator, instigator, and inexplicable comic relief, he is the thread that ties the show together as we follow the story of Jeannie, the woman with whom he is obsessed. He is creepy and unlikeable throughout the show, an unusual choice for a main character, but acted very well.

Most of the other characters are loveable, or at least pitiable, with Imogen Vickers as Catriona being particularly brilliant and compelling, especially as her story is given the space to develop naturally. The concept and music are fantastic, though the singing is not flawless and there were more than a few sound issues. Happens to the best of us!

In some places, the plot falters, as the show skips blithely through time without much warning (Jeannie’s bump does not grow throughout her pregnancy at all) and characters occasionally make choices that bear no resemblance to what we know about them. Emotional moments have a tendency to come out of nowhere and return to nothing without any real flow, and there is a slightly amateur feel to the whole thing, surprising given it is one of the better-funded shows.

The costumes, for example, are lovely, setting the scene perfectly for working class Edinburgh and evidencing the change in Jeannie’s circumstances. Overall, this show had an equal mix of high points and low, and the potential to be outstanding with a few adjustments. Suitable for all ages, and a good option for rock fans with a bit of national pride.

Edinburgh Days is at St Bride's Centre until 24 August

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