MUSICALS
****

Musical theatre is often labelled as mushy and over sentimental and camp. There are however moments of dramatic musical theatre which really define the genre. 11 is one of these moments.

The base of the musical is the fact we are now ten years on since the tragic events in New York on September 11^th which started a whole new war across the world. War is not a new thing and this musical looks to examine what makes a person cross the line from Patriotism to terrorism. Using a clever flash back technique it lets the audience look at the similarities and differences between World War 1 and 2 plus the war for equality for coloured people in the 60’s right up to 9/11. What really stands out is that in war there are no victor’s just victims, the numbers of which continue to rise as we enjoy the world’s biggest arts festival.

The 6 strong ensemble company play various roles to great effect especially Steven McIntyre who completely compels and engrosses the audience as does Darren Niven during an emotional letter reading scene that even had me crying.

The Score is refreshingly light and dam powerful and really adds to the excellence of the overall production. The show also use a large visual display of chilling pictures from both world wars right up to rolling news footage of not only 9/11 but 7/7 too, for me the most chilling picture used is of an empty Nazi Gas Chamber which is an image that continues to transcend time.

This production really does showcase the best of Scottish talent both on and off the stage and is without a doubt a massive hit of the Musicals and Opera section at this years fringe. I book your ticket for this production while there are still some left.