EDINBURGH 2025: Review: PALS, Gilded Balloon

PALS makes a triumphant return to the Edinburgh Fringe. This female-led, female-produced comedy from Higgledy Piggledy Productions charts the journey of a quartet of besties on their attempt to conquer Ben Lomond.

After premiering at the Fringe in 2024, Mirren Wilson’s play explores the ups and downs of a friendship group in their twenties. A social media comparison creep-fuelled conversation at a bus stop prompts the group to “do big things” and go on an adventure together.

Directed by Tanya MacDonald, this show is a lot of fun. Chock full of Scottish culture and humour, including cameos of cult dancing favourites, reminiscent of “Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour”.

Olivia McIntosh is warm and sincere as Sadie, the “mum” of the group, and our narrator, who plans the trip. Amy Glass is a hoot as Taylor, the passenger princess, while Shelley Middler charms as Flo, whose colleagues just won’t leave her alone on her day off. Olivia Caw steals many scenes as Claire, the particularly chaotic and charming fourth member of the gang.

What starts as an innocent trek along part of the West Highland Way soon goes awry with deep chats and dark consequences in tow.

Sprinkled amongst the fun are some extremely touching conversations, including women’s health, money, and the realities of being a carer. There were certainly all kinds of tears in this particular audience, with these usually taboo topics being given their moment on stage.

Maxi Heddle’s lighting ensures our focus goes to the right hiker, whether it’s Sadie letting us in on what comes next, to the sheer chaos of putting up a tent by committee.

Etain Saoirse Sweeney’s sound design allows us to hear every quip and bit of banter as the gang bounce off each other, with scenes bookended with lilty folk tunes grounding the piece in Scotland.

While the 70-minute show felt largely well-paced, some streamlining of the end sequence would help minimise any risks of the piece drifting into hysterical cliches - and a minor technical issue was well-handled during this particular performance. 

This unapologetically Scottish and women-centred story is a gem of this year’s Fringe and shouldn’t be missed. Go alone, go with a friend, just go see PALS!

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