It isn’t very often that what you get exactly what you expected from a Fringe show, but the nostalgic musical comedy of School Ties thankfully delivers all that it promises.
From the opening song you are instantly transported back to the school experience you actually had – nasty, humiliating, hormonal and seemingly endless – as opposed to the one you will eventually remember as the years burden you with cynicism and bitterness -rose-tinted days of freedom, the best years of your life.
The experience is made all the more special by the four actresses who breath life into the teachers and pupils, both male and female, featured in the show and without as much as a costume change. In fact there is nothing to fault their performances as they shift seamlessly between characters, age groups and genders and often personify each new character perfectly without even uttering a word. Even when the dialogue is delivered they stay perfectly in character and display no hint of losing their accents, even in song.
The songs themselves, whilst all being original works, are nothing astounding or groundbreaking, but they are passably witty, to the point, and well executed.
In the end, you get exactly what it says on the tin – entertainment of the strictly emotive type: no deep thinking, no analysis, so pry off the lid and be delighted.
4/5
Brid-Aine Conway
