The students of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s MA Musical Theatre programme are a staple at the Fringe, and they never let us down!
With gorgeous harmonies, great chemistry, and beautiful clarity of tone, this cast is a credit to RCS
Edges, a song cycle written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, follows the lives of four characters in their 20s as they navigate life after college. From career ambitions to complicated relationships, each song tackles a different relatable struggle. RCS takes on the double challenge of performing a relatively unknown musical (just try to search for the songs on Spotify) and adapting it for a fully female cast, made up of Sophia Holmes, Claire Rob, Taylor Fristina, Lauren Troy. Hats off to the team for attempting to create a cohesive storyline from these relatively random songs - an endeavour they largely succeed in, despite a few confusing moments along the way.
The on-stage band provides a great backing track to our four protagonists as they cycle through various issues, including new romance, old romance, and life goals. Although each performer has undeniable talent, ‘Character 3’ stands out as perfectly cast in her role, with an incredibly appealing singing style, while ‘Character 2’ has a lot of natural comic flair and charisma. But really, each member of the cast is well suited to the songs they’ve been assigned and the whole show is a joy from start to end - specifically their adaptation of the “Facebook song”, as it’s fondly known in the theatre world.
There’s something extremely enjoyable about watching these MA students perform a show written by Pasek & Paul when they were students themselves, creating roles from scratch instead of waiting to be cast by others. With gorgeous harmonies, great chemistry, and beautiful clarity of tone, this cast is a credit to RCS. We can only hope to see them on a professional stage in the near future!
