Paul T Davies reviews Berlin Girl at The Space at Surgeons Hall as part of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Berlin Girl Edinburgh Festival Fringe
13 August 2019
4 Stars
Hailing from East Anglia, Eastern Edge Theatre Company present the world premiere of this musical, set in Berlin before the wall came down. Composer George Rennison has done a tremendous amount of research, considering none of the company were born before the Berlin wall came down! It was a thrill to walk into the space and see the band dressed as Kraftwork!
It's a classic love across the divide, except here the divide is between East and West, as Miriam decides to try and escape when the authorities take an interest in her political activities, and her boyfriend Xander decides to follow her. Charlee Bullock and Sam Brown are very good in the lead roles, and the ensemble are great, vocally strong and tight, with effective choreography by Charlie Booker. Standout performances come from Wade Ablitt, Lucy O'Brien and Evie White, but there isn't a weakness in the cast. I was particularly impressed by how walls and barriers were created throughout the show.
This being the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, there's little time for sound checks before the show, and the lead singers can hold back a little in the big numbers, the sound became distorted as they pushed through. Their voices are strong enough to carry the narrative, but I'm sure this will be resolved as the run continues. The music itself has wonderful touches of 1980s electronica, and this show is well worth your time! A lovingly created piece of a disturbing time in history.
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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