Plague! The Musical

C    30 July - 10 August, 12-25 @ 21.30    Bubonic Productions

The Bubonic Plague, which hit London several times in its long history, is not a subject matter which would usually be considered for a Musical Theatre treatment. However, it’s here at the Edinburgh Fringe – cunningly titled Plague! The Musical.

At 1hr45mins, it’s one of the longest productions the festival is offering this year and it unfortunately shows in both the piece and the audience experiencing it. Introducing the actual subject matter about an hour of the way in and a major character shortly before the end of the show doesn’t make it the strongest writing in the world, but a tightening of the book and a few well-placed cuts here and there (a few less groan jokes please!) could do wonders.

It’s very plain that the material by Matthew Townend and David Massingham isn’t made for the big time, but the audience seemed to enjoy themselves, despite the long running time and heat of the auditorium. Townend, who also directs, has also managed to present some kind of Monty Python-esque story which one can kind of follow, and a clever cartoon backdrop (by Robert Massingham) which sets up the location of each scene.

An enthusiastic cast really saves this musical with particularly fun performances from Robert Wainwright (The Alchemist) and Daniel Tyler-Smith (Pied Piper/Begger Lord). Not one for your “must see” list, but not a definite miss either.