Words like brilliant and incredible tend to get handed out like sweeties when it comes to reviews of the Fringe, but ‘Beautiful Burnout’ is genuinely so brilliant and incredible that few shows can compete against it.
Created from part of the team who awed crowds with the utterly astounding ‘Black Watch’, expectation for this new production was sky high. While it pales in comparison, it far from disappoints as they look into the world of boxing and combine it with some jaw dropping inventive staging and choreography.
The plot is the weakest element here, essentially a retread of the Clint Eastwood directed, ‘Million dollar baby’, only this time it’s from a Glaswegian young male’s point of view, and they have taken the unusual step of filling the plot with comedy. Yes it is funny, but perhaps some of the more devastating emotional potential isn’t allowed to breath as it should. However what it lacks in story development it thrills in spectacle.
The one hundred and eighty degree stage constantly spins around, changing shape, and these inventive moments have the audience glued and constantly delight. The real highlight is the fighting itself, choreographed to perfection, set to the epic, thundering electronica of the band Underworld, it is grueling to even watch, as these characters tear around the stage and every time a punch is thrown, time slows down and the stage begins to spin.
If you want to be astounded by just what theatre can do, make sure you beg, borrow or steal to get a ticket.
5/5 
Martin Miller
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