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EDINBURGH 2026: Reviews: GIRLZ, Gilded Balloon

Girlz runs at Edfringe until 30 August

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Featured Topic Edinburgh Festival More Coverage EDINBURGH 2026: Reviews: GIRLZ, Gilded Balloon

EDINBURGH 2026: Reviews: GIRLZ, Gilded Balloon Image

Girlz is a musical about a manufactured pop group written by Daf Hughes. 

Nicky has just landed her dream gig, a place in a brand new pop band manufactured by a big name in the industry. She’s lived with her boyfriend since they were seventeen and he’s a musician too but he’s mistrustful of the pop industry and prefers indie/folk.

Nicky is grouped with her best friend Alex and introduced to three other girls who will be part of their new band. They have ten days to record because all their music has already been written for them. 

The rest of the plot of the show is where you need to suspend your disbelief. The girls are immediately wildly successful and their first tour has them selling out stadiums in under three months. 

There’s some vague sort of girl power narrative and the band becomes really close because they’re going through the same thing together. Their individual personalities come out and it would appear that none of them are really suited to this lifestyle.

There’s a whole host of cliches such as evil managers and addiction issues but none of these are portrayed particularly well. 

The pop songs are hit or miss, but the more folksy ones are genuinely good. The cast have decent voices and the choreography is slick but plot-wise Girlz feels like a bit of a chore. 

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