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The Angel of Death Will See You Now...

 
Lois Zoppi Review by Lois Zoppi 3 Published: 23 May 2025 Multiple Venues Show Dates: 4 May 2025-1 Jun 2025

A teacher lingers between life and death and wonders what it was all for, while the Angel of Death decides his fate in a liminal waiting room, longing to realise her dream of becoming a daytime quiz show host.

One of the more unique, wonderfully Fringe-y shows on offer

What follows from this unusual premise is a combination of gentle ponderings on the way we spend our lives and how we let dreams slip away, with quirky characters, audience quizzing, and an unexpected turn towards an almost psychedelic conspiracy theory at the end.

James Mannion, playing the benign science teacher – also called James – has a clear talent for pairing songwriting with storytelling. The music is the enduring highlight of the piece overall, and having a live band is one of the show's main luxuries. The sound becomes quite beautiful with the support of The Sisters of Mercy (a choir more commonly known as Women of Note) providing harmonies from a heavenly balcony behind us. I'm eagerly awaiting the concept album that would be a natural follow-on from this show.

Overall, the production is fun but scrappy, struggling at first with a few technical and costume glitches, with the stage looking jumbled throughout. The script is lighthearted but lacks enough focus to stitch the story, character, audience interaction and music together in a satisfying way.

With a little more polish, the show's vision would have been more cohesive and effective – and it was tantalisingly close to getting there. But The Angel of Death Will See You Now is enjoyable and entertainingly anarchic, and is certainly one of the more unique, wonderfully Fringe-y shows on offer.

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The Blurb:

Otherworldly rock musical - Death’s waiting room has never sounded so good! After a bungled mugging leaves him on the edge of oblivion, a hapless teacher finds himself face-to-face with the Angel of Death – a merciless quizmaster with a twisted sense of humour. The grand prize? His very soul. The catch? The audience is part of the game. Can you help him outwit the Angel? And just who - or what - is behind the curtain? Brighton’s very own rock musical trailblazers, Trim Tab Productions, return to the Fringe with their most audacious show yet. Combining electrifying live music, scythe-sharp dark comedy and a devilish dose of interactive silliness, this is a theatrical experience like no other. Get ready to laugh, quiz, and rock out as though your life depends on it – because it very well might...