The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world, with nearly 3,500 shows. This year, Playbill is in Edinburgh for the entire month in August for the festival and we’re taking you with us. Follow along as we cover every single aspect of the Fringe, aka our real-life Brigadoon!
As part of our Edinburgh Fringe coverage, Playbill is seeing a whole lotta shows—and we're sharing which ones you absolutely must see if you're only at the Fringe for a short amount of time. Consider these Playbill Picks a friendly, opinionated guide as you try to choose a show at the festival.
Boys in the Buff was not what I thought it would be. Writers Chris Burgess and Cathy Shostak knew exactly what I expected from this title: an all-singing, all-swinging display, and maybe some awkward nod-and-wink humour chucked in for good measure. What unfolded, however, was a surprisingly poignant and empowering show with catchy music, hearty laughs, and glitzy choreography.
The show takes inspiration from a variety of styles, including burlesque, Hula, and classic musical theatre. The opening number eases us into the premise with a swanky vaudeville routine, introducing the four hunks: Max, Dan, Phil and Richard.
Just as the audience braces for an eyeful, however, the play-within-a-play structure is revealed. The music stops, and Phil confesses that he’s not quite ready to bare all. It is up to Diana Diamonte (played by Lauren Wood), the headstrong and empowering troupe leader, to set things right—think Mary Poppins, if the medicine was body confidence and the spoonful of sugar was a thong. And so the show unfolds, each number addressing a unique aspect of body image with a delicate balance of pathos and humour.
We start with Dan (David Heal), who has no problem stripping off. In fact, he loves it. He regales us with his illustrious history of streaking, while his cast mates desperately try to maintain modesty with everything from football scarves to cardboard censor signs.
In one spectacular set piece, the troupe discusses the dangers of performing in adult entertainment. Played out in silhouettes behind a curtain, we are shown a series of larger-than-life escapades, followed by a variety of uncomfortable STD treatments (was that a toilet plunger?).
And if you’re worried that this might all be a little too smutty, your fears will soon be put to rest by a sophisticated rendition of Hamlet’s "To be, or not to be," set to a magnificently sexy jazz backing.
My favourite number, however, is from Richard (Owen Dennis). In the style of an empowering break-up song blended with just the right amount of wickedness, we mourn the loss of Richard’s most cherished companion: his foreskin. While a silver cloak worthy of Elton John ensures plenty of laughs, this piece brings sincere heartache into the story.
The show’s emotional climax is “Perfect People”, a ballad in which the group reflects on what they’ve learned and what they see in the mirror. The onstage mirrors, of course, are angled towards the audience, inviting us to reflect on ourselves.
But we’re not done yet—there’s still fun to be had, and we all know it! After a little teasing and a lot of feathers, the boys celebrate their new-found body positivity by making good on the show’s title in an all-out finale.
Ultimately, Boys in the Buff is a funny, uplifting and empowering celebration of our bodies, and is well-deserving of a packed house.
Boys in the Buff runs through August 27 at C ARTS' C Cubed venue. Get tickets here. See production images from Boys in the Buff below.
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