EDINBURGH 2025: Review: MICHELLE BRASIER: IT'S A SHAME WE WON'T BE FRIENDS NEXT YEAR, Gilded Balloon At The Museum

In Year 6 Michelle Brasier’s mate uttered nine words that, at 30, still ring in her ears. They’ve sparked a Fringe show, and it’s a stunner. 

Once the lights go down, strap in because it’s hit after hit - Brasier’s mile-a-minute comedy and natural charisma zoom off on a rollercoaster of talent spilling out all over the stage. Billed as a show for “the theatre kids, the freaks, the queers”, the title comes from the words that schoolmate said offhandedly, “It’s a shame we won’t be friends next year.” He thought that when the two went off to high school, it’d be disadvantageous to associate with her. Pffh! These words have spurred a life-long search for the roots of her insecurities and anxieties and a celebration of finding your people amongst the poo-pooers. 

Accompanied on stage and on guitar by real-life partner Tim Lancaster, the original songs, some poignant and some hilarious, are impressively clever and expertly sung; there is a particularly side-splitting song about The Fast and the Furious franchise, which she cites is often requested when she performs comedy spots (no spoilers here). This week it was announced that Michelle Brasier (Aunty Donna, Ghosts Australia) has been cast as Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman the Musical Australia; with her powerful vocal talent and stage presence, it would not be surprising to see her as a musical theatre household name globally within the next few years (even if she “can’t dance”, as she admits).

With this literally goosebump-producing, knockout musical comedy, Brasier vulnerably and wittingly confronts her inner critic…and a few outer critics as well, including that childhood friend, an unsupportive professor and a theatre critic whose words have stung along her journey in the arts and in life. Billed also as a “show for anyone who’s spiralled about something they did years ago”, the relatability of her inner monologue is off the charts, and you can feel the camaraderie echo about the room. Her storytelling is so effortless and connective, you feel like you’re chatting with your Best Friend. 

With an ending quite surprising and an emotional ode to her drama teacher that will have you fighting back tears, this hour of musical comedy has everything: pathos, drama, hilarity, oodles of charm, superlative singing, originality and gentle sing-a-long. If you only have time to see one thing at the Fringe, this is the show to see.

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