Rating: ★★★★
Venue: Ermintrude at Underbelly, Bristo Square, Edinburgh
Cinderella's gone – the lucky brat's living it up while her stunning stepsisters are left wondering why they don't get their happily ever after. Witness their magical, musical misadventure as they discover what it truly means to be "ugly". Packed with lush, original music, dazzling costumes, outlandish characters and comedic madness, Apparently Ugly is a gleefully deranged fairy tale for kids, adults and anyone who's ever felt not-quite-perfect. Written by Nicky Douglas. Produced by ERA Theatrical Productions.
A pantomime-esque new family musical has arrived at Bristo Square, and it’s not as ugly as the title may suggest! Cinderella’s step sisters are sent on a quest to discover what it really means to be beautiful, and along the way they meet a range of characters (most played by Elliott Wooster who does very well in every role). Each helps them to overcome a fear or misconception they may currently be harbouring, and *spoiler alert* all lead them to the happy ending they have always been searching for. The message of the piece is loud and clear, and one that many audiences really need to hear - Nicky Douglas has provided a great book to use for this.
The songs, however, aren’t quite as catchy, and many don’t sound particularly original. The writer seems to be stronger with dialogue than composition, and has evidently taken inspiration from existing tracks, especially from other comedic musicals, to house his lyrics. This is not an accusation of plagiarism at all, however I can confidently say there wasn’t a chord progression or melody in there I haven’t heard before.
Naturally you must credit such a small team with such an otherwise successful show. Many costumes and props are handed over at speed with very little wingspace and a tight timescale to stick to. I cannot fault any of the cast or crew in this respect!
For complete transparency, in other contexts this star rating may be more of a solid 3 stars, however at the Fringe Festival this is exactly the sort of production you will be expecting to see. If you have younger children, or are a fairytale fan yourself, you certainly won’t be disappointed with this one!
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