Fringe Review: SHOWSTOPPER! THE IMPROVISED MUSICAL, Pleasance Courtyard
Photo credit: Ray Burmiston
We often find ourselves visiting the brand new shows at the Fringe or the experimental pieces, and rarely go for the big hitters with years of proven success behind them. But after hearing about Showstopper! The Improvised Musical for years, we thought it was probably time we finally gave it a go. Besties, we weren’t disappointed.
Led by Adam Meggido, the ensemble are a ridiculously talented group of performers and vocalists, with our performance also featuring Ruth Bratt, Justin Brett, Miracle Chance, and Ethan Pascal Peters. All of them possess the terrifying ability to make things up on the spot and somehow make it look completely effortless. Ruth Bratt was a particular standout for us, with her brilliantly wicked evil stepmother character bringing some of the biggest laughs of the night.
The concept is simple: cast member Andrew Pugsley (at our performance) gets a call from his producer telling him he has 70 minutes to put on a brand-new musical, so naturally he turns to the audience for help. We choose the setting, the musical styles and finally the title. On our night, we landed on an old people's coach trip, with Hamilton, Rent and Sweet Charity as our influences, before one audience member delivered the perfect title: The Denture Adventure.
From there, the cast simply create the show in front of us, accompanied by an incredibly talented three-piece band who watch, listen and react to whatever the performers throw at them. What they have clearly mastered is a formula that allows them to construct songs on the spot while simultaneously building characters and story. It sounds simple when you explain it; watching it happen is anything but.
All of the performers are brilliant, but Meggido is the clear mastermind, constantly steering the story in the right direction and spotting opportunities to keep everything moving. The performers are singing, acting, creating characters and coming up with lyrics while also having to remember everything they've just invented. Every now and then, you even get the glorious sight of a cast member corpsing because they've surprised themselves with what has just come out of their own mouth.
Our show had twists, turns, love, loss, waffles and lesbians, the latter being specifically requested by an audience member, and we had an absolute hoot. The biggest joy is knowing that you could come back 100 times and never see the same show twice. The framework may remain, but the story, songs, characters and jokes are being created afresh every single time.
It's such an innovative concept, but even more impressive is how fresh it still feels. There is clearly an enormous amount of skill behind what looks like complete chaos, and when you see the company land a particularly brilliant line or musical moment, you can't help but marvel at how they managed to create it out of absolutely nothing.
We've officially joined the Showstopper! fan club about 15 years late, but we're here now. An easy, easy five stars.
There's no stopping Showstopper!
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: James Edge
