Fringe Review: ON SOME FAR SHORE, Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street
Photo credit: George Robson
Aspiring writer Euan is grieving following the loss of his mother. He has a blank page in front of him and needs to write his speech for the funeral. In Louis Benneyworth’s new musical On Some Far Shore, we explore the strain that grief can put on romantic relationships. We also explore the transition from student life to adult life and how this can impact on relationships - a transitional time of life that isn’t explored enough on stage.
Louis Benneyworth combines present day and flashbacks nicely. His score is beautiful and sweeping - it’s compared to Hadestown and The Last Five Years in the blurb but the show definitely has its own sound. A little more variety in musical styles wouldn’t go amiss though as the show is primarily just emotional ballads. The lyrics leave a little to be desired. They are often a bit too repetitive and overly full of generic metaphors. However, the score is still lovely to listen to, especially in this very intimate space straight out of the mouths of the performers.
Co-directors Adam Paterson and Madi Bouchta show great creativity in their staging, despite a very limited playing space. A range of interesting storytelling methods are utilised including shadow work and puppetry, whilst the simplicity really focuses the show on the characters and their relationships.
Thomas Parry takes on the role of Euan and pours his heart out on stage. He gives a moving performance, even if he doesn’t get to show a huge range of emotions in the show. His vocals are beautiful, hitting the high notes with ease despite how early in the morning it is. He has a lovely chemistry with Francesa Knoop as girlfriend Isla. Knoop is great as the woman trying to be strong and doing her best to support her struggling partner. Whilst her vocals are lovely, it would be nice to hear her let rip more. Nicole Palka completes the cast as Helen, Euan’s mother. Despite being around the same age as Parry, she delivers a performance full of conviction and you quickly overlook that the show isn’t cast fully age appropriately. Palka and Parry capture the ups and downs of mother-son relationships wonderfully, and Palka gives some powerhouse vocals.
On Some Far Shore is a lovely musical to start the day at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and we’re looking forward to seeing Louis Benneyworth continue to develop as a musical theatre writer.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush