Fringe review: HOW TO WIN AGAINST HISTORY, Underbelly George Square
Last week, we went to watch the story of Henry Cyril Paget. A man who was born into great wealth. Henry loved to wear dresses and all things fabulous, and spent the whole of his family fortune on lavish costumes and in trying to progress his theatre company.
Henry, played with poise by Seiriol Davies, and Mr Alexander Keith, played by the hilarious multi rolling Matthew Blake, take the theatre company on the road and the shows get bigger and more bedazzled but the company never quite find their footing in the world. A sparkly but overall tragic story about this wonderful butterfly’s rise and fall. After all, those who shine brightest burn the fastest.
The show is heightened by a fantastic five-piece band. The production quality is truly one of the finest we found at the Fringe this year. From the set design to the utterly magnificent costumes, everything is top tier.
How to Win Against History is unapologetically itself, and the pace of the storytelling and comedy is so quick that once the conveyor belt starts, you - as the audience - need to get on, otherwise you will never catch up. The show does lose us slightly in the middle when the theatre company is going from town to town, it all blends for period of time but we still thoroughly enjoyed the piece. Perhaps the piece could shed 5/10 minutes?
Matthew Blake is the real stand out for us, playing characters ranging from elderly men to young girls and being utterly convincing in every role.
This show has a real level of class about it and we look forward to seeing what happens with it next.
Brave and bold.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: James Edge
