Until Next Year!
Girlz
There has been something of a glut of post-SIX girl-group musicals at this year's Fringe, and Girlz certainly arrives with all the ingredients you'd expec. Unfortunately, while the production is polished and the cast are consistently good, I found the writing and music frustratingly familiar, and rarely as engaging as the concept suggests.
Girlz trades heavily on the audience's affection for pop and girl groups, with obvious nods towards the likes of the Spice Girls, Girls Aloud and Little Mix, yet seems to regard much of that music with a degree of disdain. There's nothing wrong with eviscerating the vapidity of the pop machine but Girlz seems caught between wanting to celebrate pop and sneer at it, and never quite commits convincingly to either.
★ ★ ★
00:45:00
The central premise of 00:45:00 - a scientist testing how far an audience will let an ethical thought experiment go in real time - is intriguing, clever and gripping. The pre-show staging, including crowd work within the queue, was inventively immersive and the atmosphere enjoyably unnerving from the moment you walked in.
Unfortunately, after this strong introduction it doesn't quite follow through, becoming for the most part a more conventional dramatisation. There is a fantastic idea in here, however, and with a few adjustments it could easily become a must-see.
★ ★ ★