Fringe Review: GRIMM AF, Studio 2 at Assembly George Square Studios
Photo credit: David Wilkinson
Grimm AF is a new musical from Fringe favourites Baby Wants Candy, in collaboration with Schultz & Schirm. In a world not unlike our own, villains are othered and very much the outcasts. However, do they deserve to be? In this world, Grimm News is spreading false information to give society a common enemy. The villains set out on a quest to try and clear their name.
There are so many musicals retelling fairytales in a modern world or combining fairytales into one story so you begin to wonder what more could be done with the concept. This musical written by Nathan Jansen, Chris Grace, Al Samuels and Ashley Ward, with music by Adrien Pellerin, is great fun but makes relevant observations and commentary about today’s world. There are some really catchy songs in this new musical and we look forward to hearing them again, we hope, as the show continues to develop. The team have done a good job at updating jokes and references so they land with a British audience, but it is slightly jarring to hear Americans talking about Wetherspoons and Brexit.
Director Ashley Ward does a great job at telling this action-packed story on such a tiny stage. Challum Brown’s set design cleverly transforms to depict a multitude of different locations. Inge Stolterfoht’s costumes are a fun combination of fairytale and modern day outfits, but some more nods to the original fairytale characters could have made them even better.
Leading the cast are Jordan Stidham as the Wolf and Alexandra Nader as the Stepmother - perhaps in a future iteration, the characters need names rather than just being referred to as their fairytale role. Stidham is instantly likeable and a wonderful leading man. His chemistry with Michelle Ko (who blows the roof off with some powerhouse vocals) as Rapunzel is lovely. Nader delivers some great vocals and her colder, sharper characterisation contrasts nicely to Stidham’s warmth and softness.
From a company best known for their musical improv, this is an exciting venture into pre-written musical theatre for Baby Wants Candy. It only has a fairly limited run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe but we’re looking forward to seeing it develop into an even bigger and better musical in the future.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush